OCR Text |
Show I . . . ! . ! Unusal Photograph Tells Of Thrilling Sea Rescue . . '- s ' u . - , ' V - ' -- . J , M ": . ... ., V jr t t fa.. - v"7de- - VlS i' tw- U. ' . 'x Si K s; ' C 7 A - t ja. ' III t ' v hp I t i 1 ( NJf II p: .-J, ' ! ' J i-J I PASSENGER SESCVED AFTER SWIMMING FIVE; HOURS IN SEA Whcrlsmap Robert Shepardooata Eleanor Offutt from lifeboat to deck of freighter Lillian Lnckenbach.Thlf picture was taken by the snip's radio 6TTttor, Lorren Mlllhollih ... ' ' ! i " SEW TORRV tlec. (UP)-. Miss Eleanor Offut, who boarded the freighter Lillian Luckenbach at Los Angeles, was recovering in a hospital here today after being rescued from shark-infested waters wa-ters off Cuba, refusing to say whether she jumped or fell overboard. over-board. l Miss Offut's disappearance from the freighter was disclosed when Mrs. O. D. Brundett, a passenger, ran to the bridge, crying: "I can't find my cabin ihate.' 1 think she jumped -overboard. . The second mate signaled the engine room to stop and sent for Captain Gilbert C. Bown, who. after talking to Mrs. Brundett, ordered th vessel turned around. As the ship turned about, almost al-most all the crsw we:.t over the ship from forecastle to poop. There was no trace of Miss Offutt. Of-futt. Mrs. Brundett had seen her packing her bags, writing letters. The Luckenbach moved slowly back over her course, its searchlight search-light dancing over the sea. At intervals in-tervals a man on the boat deck heaved out a lighted buoy so that it would not waste time searching the same area twice. The radio operator asked all ships In- the vicinity to take up the search. But the hours pajued without results. 'The sharks probably have her by now." an officer suggested. "We'll keep on looking." said Bown. "Until after dawn, anyway." any-way." Am dawn broke. Bown had his ship turned about again to go back over the same course. Soon afterward there was a cry from the forward lookout. From the bridge, through the murky dawn, directly in front of the ship, officers saw a woman swimming. The engines were stopped, a boat was put over the side and, as the rowers pulled up alongside the swimmer, she did not so much as look around, but swam doggedly on. It was Miss Offutt She had been swimming for over six hours and was only semiconscious. Taken back aboard the Luckenbach Lucken-bach liner, she was put in sick bay. She had fever and was delirious, de-lirious, but soon got better. She would say nothing. Four letters had been left sealed in her room, one addressed to the captain. But, sines she had been rescued, he returned them to her unopened. This happened Sunday morn in jr. Last night the yertsel made New York and Misa Offutt was taken to a hospital, still refusing to dm-cum dm-cum her experience . or to say whether she had jumped or had fallen overboard. |