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Family wiped out after mudslide blamed on wildfires destroys their Colorado cabin: Brother, his sister and second man feared to be their dad pulled dead from debris, with brother's wife still missing

A family was wiped out after a mudslide feared to have been caused by wildfires swept through their Colorado cabin.

David Brown, 61, and his sister Patricia Brown, 59, are both confirmed to have died after last Tuesday's mudslide in Poudre Canyon near Rustic in Colorado.

David's wife Diana, 57, remains missing. David and Patricia's father Richard is also listed as missing, although a body discovered in the debris on Monday is feared to belong to him. 

Patricia's remains were found first, last Tuesday, with an autopsy later determining that she had drowned. 

David's remains were found in a driveway on Sunday, with a cause of death yet to be determined. Results of an autopsy on the second man found dead in the Poudre River have also yet to be shared.   

David Brown, 61, is one of three people known to have died after a mudslide swept through his family's cabin in Rustic, Colorado, last  Tuesday

David Brown, 61, is one of three people known to have died after a mudslide swept through his family's cabin in Rustic, Colorado, last  Tuesday

David's sister Pat, 59, is also confirmed to have been killed. Her body was recovered last Wednesday

David's sister Pat, 59, is also confirmed to have been killed. Her body was recovered last Wednesday 

David's wife Diana, pictured, and his father Richard are still missing

David's wife Diana, pictured, and his father Richard are still missing

The third body found, identified as male was discovered on Monday, although an identity has not been shared it is believed to be Richard Brown

The third body found, identified as male was discovered on Monday, although an identity has not been shared it is believed to be Richard Brown 

David and Patricia were staying at their cabin was at the cabin with David's wife Diana, and their father, Richard, who owned the property. 

David and Diana's son, Colorado, 27, said he fears that his mom and grandpa are almost certainly dead after last week's flash floods triggered a mudslide which swept through Poudre Canyon, destroying five other cabins.

Trees and vegetation roots normally help soak up rain water, sparking speculation that plants destroyed by wildfires could have helped prevent last week's tragedy.  

According to friends, David, or 'DB' as he was known, and his wife Diana traveled to the cabin from their San Antonio home each July for the last 30 years.

Patricia was visiting from her home in Madison, Wisconsin, when the tragedy struck. 

Colorado remembers his beloved family members telling the Mail Online, 'Mom liked to keep to herself. She was very close to the people around her and didn't let in a lot of people but loved intensely. She was creative, bright, and joyful.'

'Dad was a man of few words but chose them carefully and with impact. He was easily the funniest man I've ever known. He terrified most people upon meeting them but once you got to know him you got to see how much heart he had.'

'My aunt was quiet and soft-spoken but loved what she did orchestral French horn dearly and loved her family.' Patricia enjoyed cooking, traveling by car, jigsaw and word puzzles of all kinds, genealogy, and spending time with her cats, according to her Orchestra Iowa profile. 

'Grandpa was a pillar of his community. He was strong-willed and outspoken and had been living in Colorado full time for a several years now.' Richard was a retired Airforce pilot and had begun preaching in his retirement. 

The 27-year-old remembers peaceful visits walking the trails and watching wildlife visiting the cabin every year until he graduated. Thinking back on his family trips he recalls the cabin 'wasn't a place where we had strong eventful memories it was where we went to not have them to be in peace for a couple weeks.' 

Hilary Keahey, longtime friend of the couple, told Texas Public Radio she remembers David and his family traveling to the Colorado cabin every year. 'It was definitely his happy place, he talked about it like a refuge,' she recalls. 

David worked for Southwest Airlines for more than two decades. Diana was known as a skilled jewelry craftsman by her friends, according to Keahey. Both were well-known members of the theater community. DB was a founding member of the Oxymorons, an improv theater troupe founded in San Antonio in 1989 and extremely active in the '90s.  

Brown (left) with the improv troupe he started in the '90s, the Oxymorons

Brown with the improv troupe he started in the '90s, the Oxymorons 

'He was one of the funniest people I ever knew,' said Keahey, who joined the troupe in 1994.

Keahey reminisced about DB's generosity on stage as a collaborator. She spoke of Diana's support of DB, she was active in the San Antonio Theater Coalition, her active participation in her church theater and her devotion to their son. She has maintained the friendship with the couple despite the troupe ending its run.

Another Oxymoron alumnus, Manny Pelaz, remembered DB as an enormous man — Brown was around 6'5' — who was very gentle and soft spoken calling the beloved man his 'comedic mentor.'

'The guy did not have a mean bone in his body. He was generous onstage. He was generous offstage. It is hard to find someone who is 100% devoted to others,' he said.

Search and rescue teams have continued to search Larimer County for the missing people

Search and rescue teams have continued to search Larimer County for the missing people 

David and Diana's love of theater was shared with Colorado who studied Performing Arts at Savannah College of Arts and Design. Pat also joined in the family's love of performing as a French Hornist. 

Before any deaths had been confirmed Keahey already accepted the deaths of her friends and their family. While obsessively refreshing the news over the weekend trying to learn the fate of the Brown's she saw a picture that confirmed her worst fears. 

A maroon 2016 Honda Odyssey minivan was mangled in the wreckage. 'It was broken and scratched and twisted. I knew they were gone. Because I sold them that car,' Keahey said.

'When you see something like that and you know it's probably parked right next to the cabin. And it looks that way. And the reports are saying the cabin has been swept away,' she said 'it's hard not to come to terms with the fact that their souls are elsewhere now.' 

The sheriff's department has continued to explore the area for several days with dozens of search and rescue personnel searching the debris but were often hindered by weather, as additional flash flood warnings delay efforts.  

Six homes including the Brown's were destroyed and another was damaged, all on the same road, the sheriff's office said.

Mudslides and flash floods swept through the area where the Brown family had owned a cabin for several decades

Mudslides and flash floods swept through the area where the Brown family had owned a cabin for several decades 

The deadly extreme weather occurred in the same area where Colorado experienced their largest fire in recorded history last year

The deadly extreme weather occurred in the same area where Colorado experienced their largest fire in recorded history last year

The flooding and slides happened in area that was burned last year by the 326-square-mile (844-square-kilometer) Cameron Peak Fire, the largest in Colorado's history. Fires torch vegetation that usually helps absorb rain and keeps the ground stable, making those areas more vulnerable to flooding, especially in steep sections. The soil in burned areas can also repel rain.

Extreme temperatures, low humidity, gusty winds and rough terrain contributed to the rapid growth of the fire, the first to spread to about 313 square miles (811 square kilometers) in the state, according to federal fire managers. A large amount of trees killed by beetles and stricken by the drought also fueled the growth of the fire, according to their final summary.

Scientists say climate change is responsible for more intense and frequent extreme weather like flooding and droughts and events like wildfires. But more research is needed to determine how much global warming is to blame, if at all, for a single event.

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