CAÑON CITY, Colo. (KXRM) — The family of a man who died in Colorado after saving his children during a whitewater rafting accident earlier this month is finding an unexpected outpouring of support.
Dustin Harker, a father of 13, was rafting on the Arkansas River near Cañon City, Colorado with his family in early June when the raft capsized in some rapids.
Harker, a neurologist, was able to rescue three of his children who were thrown into turbulent waters, working to get them out from under the raft and back into the vessel.
“He was underwater for fifteen minutes,” said Sharon Neu Young, Harker’s sister-in-law. “They did CPR on him for 30 to 45 minutes, but they weren’t able to bring him back.”
After he was pulled from the water, Harker was brought onto the nearby Royal Gorge Route Railroad. The conductor had stopped the train asking passengers if there were any medics, according to Yvette Ramos, a first responder who was onboard the train during the incident.
Ramos told Nexstar’s KXRM all she wanted was to bring Harker back to his family.
“I kept looking at his ring and I kept thinking, this is somebody’s husband, this is somebody’s father, this is somebody’s uncle and grandfather,” stated Ramos. “I broke down and started crying because I felt like I didn’t do enough… like I needed to do more.”
Young said authorities told her family Harker had suffered cerebral hematomas from the accident.
“They are right now suspecting he had crashed into some rocks … and maybe he was conscious and able to do things for a few minutes, but the effects of that head trauma took his life,” Young said.
Harker had used what remaining strength he had to give his life for those he loved.
“Thirteen kids losing their dad, it just magnifies the grief,” stated Young. “It was like a meteor hit. I knew the second [Harker’s wife] said the words that the moment before was one part of life, and this was a different reality.”
Despite the sudden loss, the family is finding comfort in the words of strangers after Young made a Facebook and GoFundMe page for people to post memories and pictures of Harker. They wouldn’t realize how many lives Harker had connected with until people across multiple communities began donating and interacting with posts.
“It’s been amazing to just observe all of the comments and reaching out from his patients of how much they appreciated how he cared for them, which isn’t really something that I’ve had an insight to before,” said Young. “It’s been such a treasure to be able to have them gather with us and share the bits of him that we didn’t have the opportunity to know as well.”
It was this very Facebook and GoFund Me page Ramos would find after days of searching for his family. She wanted to tell the family, she and other first responders did everything they could to save Harker.
“I’ve been looking every day to see if I could see a story about him, to see if it was published on the news… I [decided] to reach out for peace of mind and so that they have peace themselves,” said Ramos. “So they knew we tried, that we really tried for their husband.”
Harker’s family continues to remember their loved one as someone who was a “creator of many good laughs,” loved outdoor adventures and was incredibly compassionate, according to Young.
“Being a brother or sister was definitely, I think, embedded in his philosophy of how he connected with people and how he treated them all,” stated Young. “He was very thoughtful in the things that he did and careful in how he did them to make sure they align with his values.”