‘He is an absolute hero’: Dad praised for saving his two kids from rushing Mississippi River before being swept away

Cody Pope, 41, died after his family became stuck in rushing Mississippi River waters

People are calling a Minnesota father a “hero” after he saved his kids from being swept up in the Mississippi River before disappearing under the water himself.

Cody Pope, 41, of Elk River, took his two children swimming on Friday. After getting in the water, the river’s current took the family downstream. Pope managed to help his 10-year-old daughter, Rowan, get to a sandbar and pushed his 6-year-old son, Calvin, to shore. But he wasn’t able to save himself from the rushing waters.

More than a dozen agencies responded to the scene and helped search for Pope. His body was discovered around 10 am Sunday nearly three miles from where he first went into the water.

Brian Donnelly lives on the river and said he’s had concerns with how forceful the water can be.

“I’ve been very nervous the last few weeks that somebody was going to fall in and would need to be rescued,” he told WCCO, a CBS affiliate. “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.”

Cody Pope with his girlfriend, Cheryl Holzknecht, and their two children, Rowan, 10, left, and Calvin, 6, right. Pope died after being swept away by rushing waters trying to save the kids (GoFundMe)

A GoFundMe set up to help support Pope’s girlfriend, Cheryl Holzknecht and their two children has nearly reached its $12,000 goal with $11,785 in donations.

Holzknecht took to Facebook to describe Pope. “I will spend the rest of my life missing Cody,” she said. “He was an amazing daddy and a true hero in his last moments. I don’t know how I will make it without him.

“He was my rock and did so much for anyone and everyone he knew. Such a selfless human and gone far, far too soon. Our family is being lifted up by so many right now and we see you and appreciate every last one of you.”

Jesse Pope, the man’s brother, told WCCO that 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,” he said, explaining how the incident happened. First responders came to the scene quickly and pulled Calvin out of the water, the brother 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.

“Went out a hero.” He added: “To lose somebody in the prime of their life is hard to take.”