Minnesota man who died saving his kids in Mississippi River remembered as an "absolute hero"
ELK RIVER, Minn. — An Elk River father is being hailed a hero for saving two of his kids before getting swept up in the Mississippi River.
Sherburne County authorities say 41-year-old Cody Pope and his family had been swimming on Friday morning before the river's strong current swept them downstream. Pope helped his 10-year-old daughter to a sandbar and then supported his 6-year-old son long enough to push him to shore before he disappeared underwater.
For two days, more than a dozen agencies searched for him in the river. Just before 10 a.m. on Sunday, the Wright County Water Patrol recovered Pope's body along this stretch of the river near the Oliver Kelley Farm, about three miles from where he initially went into the water.
Chris Peterson, one of Pope's best friends, shared this statement with WCCO: "Cody was a great son, brother, friend and one of the best fathers I've met. He would give the shirt off his back for a complete stranger. That's the way he was. I just want to say he is an absolute hero."
Brian Donnelly has lived in Elk River for 23 years, but has only lived right along the river for a month. Even in that short time, he's already seen the power of the river.
"I've been very nervous the last few weeks that somebody was going to fall in and would need to be rescued," Donnelly said. "Over the last two weeks I've seen several people venture out there in kayaks or canoes and were very surprised that they end up down the river, a mile in like 16 seconds."
Jesse Ball fishes along that stretch of the river. He says the water is as high as he's seen, though it can be deceptive in certain spots. Ball says his heart goes out to Pope's family.
"Words can't describe it, it's heartbreaking," Ball said. "You don't know what to say during that time. You know, it's tough. I mean, I wouldn't wish that on anybody."
Pope's girlfriend also posted on Facebook calling him an amazing dad and true hero in his last moments. A Meal Train and a GoFundMe have been set up for Pope's family.
"Classic Cody Pope," said Jesse Pope, Cody's brother. "To lose somebody in the prime of their life is hard to take."
He says what happened to his brother is a cautionary tale.
"He loved spending time with Calvin and Rowan, and he loved being out on the river with them," Jesse Pope said. "Grabbed Rowan first, got her back onto the shore, then went back out for Calvin and essentially kept him above water for as long as he could. He went out a hero."
First responders acted quickly.
"They were able to get Calvin out of the water before this story would've been even more tragic," Jesse Pope said.
Jesse Pope was serving in Kuwait with the Minnesota National Guard when he got the news.
"When you say goodbye to your friends and family to go do this mission, you say goodbye to them with the thought of, 'I'll see you soon,'" he said.
Jesse Pope says his brother was a huge personality who valued experiences in life and would drop everything to help a friend.
"Everyone who worked with him or met him automatically found him to be warm, gregarious and easy to get along with," Jesse Pope said. "Nobody should have to go through what our family's going through now."