‘A very fun-loving guy,’ father of 13 dies in Cañon City rafting accident
CAÑON CITY, Colo. (KRDO) - A family is grappling with the pain of unexpected loss after their loved one died in a rafting accident in Cañon City.
According to the Fremont County Coroner's Office, 47-year-old Dustin Harker died on June 9 while rafting around 2 p.m.
Harker's sister-in-law Sharon Neu Young said she got the call Friday from her sister that Dustin was dead.
"Losing somebody suddenly is always a shock," said Young. "And I think people have been in shock."
Young said Harker was rafting in Cañon City as part of a church adventure trip when the raft he was in capsized.
She told KRDO that Harker quickly worked to get his children out safely but in the chaos, Harker was injured himself.
"There were leaders there that tried to resuscitate [Harker]," said Young, "You know, there were other teenagers there watching all of this unfold."
Despite leaders and medical professionals attempting life-saving measures, Harker did not survive.
The Fremont County Coroner said though an official cause of death will not be released for another four to six weeks, the coroner said they are looking into Harker's death as an accident.
The tragedy has left the Harker Family with a large load of grief and the heavy burden of thinking through what comes next.
Young said Harker was the breadwinner for the family and his wife homeschooled their 13 children.
"He was providing the health insurance," said Young. "So that's probably like the first thing that hit her is, you know, we have all the immediate needs. We've got all these appointments and things coming up and she's not going to have that anymore."
As the Harker family moves forward, Young set up a fundraiser to try and help with those immediate, pressing costs.
If you'd like to donate, you can do that here.
Now as the family plans Harker's funeral, scheduled for Saturday, June 17, in Kansas, Young said they're trying to focus on what can bring them joy in this time of darkness.
"Life doesn't stop at times like these and we're going to do our best to carry the kids through this and help them still feel joy and know that things are going to be okay," said Young.
