On July 31, 1976, Colorado’s Big Thompson Canyon experienced one of the most deadly flash floods in American History. 144 people were believed to have died. That number is now 143 after Darrell Johnson, one of five assumed victims whose bodies was never found, was found alive and well.
Darrell Johnson was believed to be staying in a small cabin in the Big Thompson Canyon when the flash floods washed away the cabin and 417 other homes. Even though his body was never found, Darrell Johnson was counted among the dead.
This week, however, as residents planned a memorial plaque with the names of all of the victims, they tried to locate the victims who were still unaccounted for so they didn’t list any survivors among the dead. They found Darrell Johnson alive and well in Oklahoma. Apparently, he and his family left the Big Thompson Canyon cabin where they were staying a day earlier than they had planed.
"We were in Estes Park with our children," Johnson said. "We left a day early. It saved our lives."
Sources: Associated Press, CBS4 Denver, Wikipedia