A Des Moines woman is recounting the terror at Maquoketa Caves State Park.
Felicia Coe was camping at the park last week with her boyfriend and his 16- and 11-year-old sons. She says Friday was supposed to be a beautiful day exploring caves and nature before it took a turn for the worst.
“This is awful. It’s terrifying. It’s our worst fear. It’s, I think, everybody’s, every parent’s worst fear,” Coe said.
She was talking with a friend who says she woke up to what sounded like a scream and fireworks.
“I thought well, it’s six o’clock in the morning. People aren’t shooting off fireworks and my next thought was not ‘somebody’s murdering a family,” Coe said. ” I had no concern at that moment.”
Coe described the moment authorities told her to move to a different part of the park.
“I was talking with my friend when two heavily geared up what I think were park rangers came up with you know, big, automatic-looking guns and they were clearly very alert and something was going on and made eye contact with us. And one waved us over and then said get to the front of the park,” Coe said.
She went to look for her boyfriend’s teenage son who had gone for a run earlier that morning. While searching, she noticed another little boy, who she later learned was 9-year-old Arlo.
He had just survived an attack that left his mom, dad and 6-year-old sister dead.
“He’s just standing there. Just calm and you know, nothing out of the ordinary. Other than he had one shoe on and was in his pajamas, but not being held or comforted, or, you know, showing any emotion. I just can’t imagine,” Coe said.
As of Sunday, police haven’t released a motive for the tragedy — something Coe says has been difficult to process.
“To feel like it could almost have happened was just a different sort of punch in the gut. Different sorts of startling realization of the fragility of everything and how quick things just change,” Coe said.
Investigators say 23-year-old Anthony Sherwin, of La Vista, Nebraska, was also found at the campgrounds. He appeared to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Right now, there is no word on when the park is set to reopen.
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