Pastor’s 12-y-o daughter killed in snow collapse outside Illinois church
A 12-year-old Illinois girl who died after a snow fort collapsed on her as she played with a friend near her parents’ church on Sunday desperately screamed for help before suffering cardiac arrest.
The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office identified the girl this week as Esther Jung of Elk Grove Village, an ABC 7 report said. Her father is the pastor of Rothem Church in Arlington Heights, where investigators said she and a 9-year-old girl dug the fort in a snowbank as their parents worshiped inside the church. The adults found the collapsed fort about an hour later and called authorities.
"She cried out, 'Help me. Help me,' but nobody heard it," Jae Kim, the 9-year-old's great uncle, who said the pastor’s daughter was not completely buried as she screamed for help.
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Authorities who ruled Esther’s death an accident said she died of asphyxia and hypothermia due to entrapment in a snowbank. Her friend was treated for hypothermia and released from the hospital on Monday, ABC 7 said.
“It’s just a tragic accident,” Sgt. Charles Buczynski told the Chicago Tribune.
Raymond Lee, whose father serves as an elder at the Korean Christian church, told the Daily Herald that the 12 year old “was the one with the biggest heart of anyone."
"If it involved taking in a newcomer or welcoming little kids, she was there, kind of like a big sister," Lee said.
To help Esther’s family, Lee launched a GoFundMe campaign Monday seeking to raise $35,000 and has raised more than half the amount requested as of Wednesday morning.
“The family is in shock and beyond devastated. Esther's father is the pastor of the church and the family lives on that income alone. The funds raised will go toward funeral costs and to support Esther's family in this time of need,” Lee wrote on the campaign's page.
Family members told ABC 7 that Esther was the youngest of three and dreamed of one day becoming a veterinarian.
Neighbors at her home in Elk Grove Village recalled how she loved building snow forts in the front yard.
"It's just so sad. It's something she loved to do, and she did regularly, so she was probably confident in her skills," neighbor Peg Gradl told the network. "Two little girls just having fun in the snow. It's so normal, but it's a danger we don't often think of."
The Rothem Church describes itself as a part of the Reformed Christian tradition. Among their evangelism efforts is the deployment of retirees to spread the Gospel.
“In the next 20 to 30 years, the average life expectancy of a person will be 100 years. Those who live long enough will live up to the age of 120. So if you retire at age 60 to 65, you have to live 35 to 40 years after retirement,” the church says in a translated version of their ministry page.
Instead of planning to live the rest of their lives with nothing to do, the church says: “When you are ready to retire from your youth, you will receive the mission of the church, go to your mission field, preach the Gospel, and help you live a meaningful life.”
Despite the loss of his daughter, according to Lee, Esther’s father plans to return to the Rothem Church pulpit as early as this weekend.
"I don't know where he gets the strength and the courage, but he wants to be there to preach," Lee told the Daily Herald.
