“He lived for his children,” Family mourns the loss of 48yr-old father who died on Manitou Incline

MANITOU SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - On Saturday, a slew of law enforcement agencies shut down the Manitou Incline for an emergency medical rescue. Despite the life-saving efforts administered that day, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office announced, "The individual succumbed to their illness and has been pronounced deceased."

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Person dies after medical rescue on the Manitou Incline

The El Paso County Coroner is identifying that man as 48-year-old Nickolay Jogolev, known to his friends and family as Nick.

"He lived for his children," Coral Jogolev said, wiping away budding tears. Coral had been married to Nick for more than 12 years and had built a family of nine, comprised of two children from a previous marriage, and two of Coral's nieces that they took in.

"I guess they were sitting down, and my husband looked quite pale. And he [another hiker] offered my husband a Gatorade, and I guess he drank the Gatorade and stood up, and that was it," Coral said.

On Saturday, Coral recalled the Castle Rock Police Department coming to notify her of her husband's death while the kids were playing in the front yard.

"I'm still processing it. Surreal. I actually reached out to the officer today because I vaguely remember calling him a liar when he told me," Coral said.

Nick was in Manitou Springs this weekend for a Cub Scout hike of the incline with his 9-year-old son. "Our pack does it every year," Coral said. "They train for it. They train, you know, through the Parker Incline and the Castle Rock Incline."

"We've done it before. He's done it. I've done it. We've done it outside of Cub Scouts. So it was a shock at this time he didn't make it home," Coral said.

Now, while the family grieves, they are forced to plan for the future. Coral said Nick was the sole provider for the family, which already lived paycheck to paycheck. A big part of that is paying for the medical needs of one of their kids.

A friend of the family has started a GoFundMe to help the family navigate these difficult times.