Leitch Echlin Hathaway Hadden died saving Charles A. Roberts from drowning, Tarpon Springs, Florida, April 8, 1935. Roberts, 37, who was in charge of a motorboat containing two other men, fell into water 10 feet deep in Anclote Anchorage of the Gulf of Mexico at a point a mile and a quarter from the shore. There were choppy waves 18 inches high. From the boat, Hadden, 28, electrical mechanic, threw a life preserver toward Roberts, but Roberts did not get hold of it. Telling the other man to reduce the speed, Hadden, fully clothed, dived from the stern, swam 200 feet to the life preserver, and then towed the life preserver 50 feet to Roberts, who was threshing. He tied the life preserver around Roberts. Meanwhile, the boat’s motor stalled, and the boat drifted to a point 800 feet from Hadden and Roberts. Hadden and Roberts made swimming strokes but made no progress toward the boat. After remaining a half-hour with Roberts, Hadden said he would bring the boat to Roberts. He then left Roberts and swam toward the boat. After a time Roberts heard Hadden call for help but did not see him. The boat drifted to a point 1,200 feet from Roberts, and the other man, who was unable to start the motor, then cast the anchor. Roberts drifted and swam to a platform that rose four feet above the water three-quarters of a mile from the shore and climbed onto it. The next day two men in a boat rescued Roberts, who was semiconscious, and also the man in the boat. Roberts recovered. Hadden’s shirt and trousers were discovered in the water, but his body was not found.
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