The Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma is holding a memorial service tonight for three victims of a flash flood.
Dorita Horse, her daughter Helen Horse, and niece Rose Saddleblanket died after their vehicle was swept away by flood waters early Sunday morning. They were found huddled together in the back seat of their van.
"In that brief amount of time, when they knew they were going to die, I believe Mom tried to comfort them. I believe she prayed them into heaven," Alpha Marie Goombi, one of Dorita Horse's 11 children, told The Oklahoman.
Dorita Horse was married to Kiowa Chairman Billy Evans Horse. They recently celebrated their 50th anniversary.
Helen Horse was a volunteer firefighter. She helped with the Columbia space shuttle recovery effort in 2003.
Saddleblanket, 16, was a student at Riverside Indian School. "She was like our little sister," Bessie James, her aunt, said.
Funeral services take place on Thursday.
Get the Story:‘I believe she prayed them into heaven' (The Oklahoman 8/22)
pwpwd Related Stories:
Kiowa Tribe mourns loss of three to flooding (8/21)
Kiowa chairman loses wife, daughter in flooding (8/20)
