TRAGIC

Police Recover Body of 4-Year-Old ‘Swept Away’ From Father in River

“He managed [to] rescue the older boy. But unfortunately he witnessed his 4 year old son get swept away by the river.”

The body of a 4-year-old boy caught up by currents in Oklahoma’s Arkansas River was recovered Saturday morning. Police said the father was nearby while his boys played in the water. “He managed [to] rescue the older boy,” a statement from the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office reads. “But unfortunately he witnessed his 4 year old son get swept away by the river.” The father, Chuck Burkhalter, told local media he was in the water with his children at the time. When the current got deeper, Burkhalter said he grabbed one of his boys out of the water but couldn’t reach the other. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol is investigating the boy’s death.