On July 15, 1960, Sergeant Burris and Officer Bybee were training in scuba diving at Lake Lotowana when they drowned.

Sergeant Burris and Officer Herbert Bybee, both assigned to Sheffield Station, were practicing scuba diving for an underwater recovery unit that Sergeant Burris was forming. Sergeant Burris was teaching Officer Bybee diving techniques at Lake Lotowana, in Lake Lotowana, Missouri, swimming off a dock, when something went very wrong. At approximately 5:15 p.m., the dock owner, retired Lieutentant Colonel William Parker, saw Sergeant Burris sitting on the dock with bubbles rising to the surface of the water approximately 10 feet away. Sergeant Burris then donned diving equipment and dove into the water. At approximately 5:45 p.m., a married couple were fishing off of their dock two lots down when they noticed Sergeant Burris floating face down in the water. After learning of the second diver, another lake resident grappled the water for approximately 45 minutes and discovered Officer Bybee's body in 30 feet of water at 7:15 p.m. Officer Bybee's tank was empty but Sergeant Burris's still had air pressure. The exact cause of the incident remained undetermined. Chief Brannon reported that Sergeant Burris was a skilled diver and had served the department as a diver on prior occasions.

Sergeant Burris, 46, born in Macon County, Missouri, had served with the Kansas City Police Department for 10 years and was survived by his wife, Euphemia, and daughter. Interred: Forest Park Cemetery.

Officer Bybee, 31, born in Warsaw, Missouri, had served the Kansas City Police Department for two years and served in the United States Navy for four years. He was survived by his wife, Rose, and four children. Interred: Cross Timbers Cemetery, Hickory County, Missouri.

Sergeant Burris was wounded in a gun battle in 1948 deemed the Paseo Massacre in which four patrolmen, a suspect and a citizen were killed. He was hit twice by bullets fired by a man during the wild shooting that took place at 1334 the Paseo. The gun battle was termed a new record in Kansas City violence, being the worst since five persons were killed in the "Adam God" riot of 1908, the Union Station Massacre of 1933 in which five were killed including two Kansas City police officers, a McAlester police chief and an FBI agent.