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Parents Detail Moments Before Toddler Was Swept Away To Her Death By Waterfall

The family of a 3-year-old Pennsylvania toddler who was swept away to her death by the rapids of a North Carolina waterfall early Monday morning is detailing the incident.

Newswanger family

Newswanger family

Photo Credit: GoFundMe photo

Nevaeh Jade Newswanger's Denver parents say they have been working on a construction site in North Carolina and decided to hike up a trail nearby on Sunday, April 10.

Nevaeh was playing in the sand nearby when she slipped and fell into the water, her parents said on a GoFundMe page.

"We desperately tried to rescue her but the current was so strong and it swept her down the river and over the falls where the angels caught her," they said, "and she is now our precious angel, so radiant in the presence of God.

"Her name is heaven spelled backwards. She was truly a piece of heaven to all who knew her."

The page had raised more than $2,600 as of Monday, April 11, just hours after her body was recovered.

Emergency crews were first called to a report of a child swept up at the top of the waterfall and being carried over the edge around 5:50 p.m. Sunday, Apr. 10, NBC news report citing the Jackson County Sheriff's Office.

The fall is the tallest in the Rockies at over 400 feet, according to the US Forest Service.

Newswanger's family was visiting the area while staying in Oconee County, South Carolina, outlets report citing the sheriff's office.

"Always remain at a distance, follow safety precautions and warnings which are in place, and view waterfalls from designated viewing areas," Jackson County Sheriff Chip Hall told the press on Monday morning.

Nevaeh is survived by her parents, Keith and Sheri, and sister, Tania.

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