Dad who died rescuing his children in the Mississippi found, ID’d

A man missing since Friday after rescuing his two children from strong currents in the Mississippi River has been found dead, the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office said Sunday.

Wright County’s water patrol division located the body of Cody Jay Pope, 41, in the river near the Oliver Kelley Farm in Elk River, the sheriff’s office said in a post on Facebook.

Pope had been swimming with his children in the river Friday and went under around 11:43 a.m. Amid heavy currents, he had helped one child to a sandbar and then supported the second child long enough to push them to shore before disappearing in the water, according to the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office.

At least a dozen agencies — including Elk River police and fire departments, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, the State Patrol and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources —joined in the search Friday.

Drownings in Minnesota and the United States have increased in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic. According to data from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the state averaged 36 non-boating drownings each year from 2010 to 2019. From 2020 through 2023, that average number jumped to 45 annually, according to the data.

Fifty-three drownings were recorded in 2021, the highest annual number since 2001. Through June this year, the state has recorded 13 drownings.

Officials stress that children in the water should wear life jackets and be supervised by adults. They’ve also warned this spring and summer about high water levels and fast-moving currents, especially in the aftermath of intense rainfall across much of Minnesota in June.

Star Tribune staff writer Greta Kaul contributed to this report.