Coroner IDs girl who died on Glenwood Caverns ride; GoFundMe page set up for family

A verified GoFundMe has been set up for the family of the 6-year-old girl killed Sunday while riding the Haunted Mine Drop at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park.

“Our brother Estifanos and sister Rahel have lost their beautiful daughter Wongel Estifanos tragically in an accident on Sept 5th, 2021 while riding the Mine Drop Ride in Glenwood Springs vacationing with her family,” the GoFundMe reads.

On Wednesday afternoon, Garfield County Coroner Rob Glassmire released Estifanos’ identity upon request of the family.

“The Coroner’s Office has verified with the Go Fund Me organization and the Estifanos family that the linked Go Fund Me account is the only valid account in support of Wongel,” the coroner’s release states.

The GoFundMe seeks $50,000 for funeral and general support expenses for the family.

“Wongel was a beautiful, caring, and cheerful girl who loves Jesus so much for a 6 year old girl,” the GoFundMe page says. “Her life was cut short in this tragic accident.”

The investigation into the incident continued into Wednesday and Glenwood Caverns will remain closed through Thursday. Cher Haavind, a spokesperson for the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, said on Tuesday that the Division of Oil and Public Safety will take lead on the investigation in conjunction with the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office and county coroner. Haavind said the investigation could take weeks to complete and months to report.

According to documents obtained by the Glenwood Springs Post Independent, the Haunted Mine Drop ride passed each of its annual regulation compliance inspections by third parties since its opening in July 2017.

The cause of the accident is still unannounced.

“We understand nothing will bring her back, but we do not want this to be an additional burden to the parents; hence asking for your help in this matter,” the GoFundMe page reads.

As 5 p.m. Wednesday, the fundraiser had collected nearly $21,000.

The GoFundMe, which was verified and also released by Glassmire, can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/f/wongel-estifanos.