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Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Hero father gave his life to save daughter from rockslide that killed his entire family

13-year-old Gracie Johnson is the only survivor of a deadly rock slide that killed five at Agnes Vallie Falls in Chaffee County, Colo.

Authorities say it is likely a father's selfless actions saved the life of his 13-year-old daughter as they were trapped amid tumbling boulders on a Colorado hiking trail.

Gracie Johnson, 13, was the lone survivor of Monday's tragedy. Her parents, sister and two cousins from Missouri, who were hiking on a Buena Vista trail, did not survive. They were identified as Dwayne Johnson, 46, and Dawna Johnson, 45, and Gracie's sister, 18-year-old Kiowa-Rain Johnson.

Dwayne and Dawna Johnson's nephews were identified as 10-year-old Baigen Walker and 22-year-old Paris Walkup, from Birch Tree, Mo. Authorities said all of the bodies were identified by a family member, but would not specify who.

An emergency helicopter searches for survivors following a rock slide at Agnes Vaille Falls on Monday.

A formal identification will be made by the coroner's office, according to Chaffee County Sheriff's Deputy Nick Tolsma. It was Tolsma who discovered the girl trapped in the 100-ton boulders.

Dwayne Johnson, right, used his body to shield his 13-year-old daughter from a deadly rockslide in Chaffee County, Colo.

“I heard a scream next to me,” he told Good Morning America Tuesday. “I saw a hand sticking out underneath the boulder.”
Tolsma freed the girl and learned the incredible story of her survival.
“She said that her dad jumped on top of her to protect her right at the last moment when the rocks were coming down, so I really think that he saved her life,” Tolsma said.

Read more at NY Daily News