Friends remember Sandy man who died trying to save child in Provo River
Provo, Utah — (KUTV) The man who died trying to save a child in the Provo River Monday afternoon was the "nicest guy" with "such a big heart," his friends told 2News.
Sean Thayne, 30, of Sandy jumped into the raging river after four-year-old London De Dios fell in, according to Utah County Sheriff's officials. She remained missing as of Monday evening.
Her mother, Brenda De Dios, also jumped in after her daughter. She passed away as well.
Friends of Thayne said they were saddened to hear of his death but were not surprised he died trying to save a child.
"He would jump in for somebody else," said Colton Swapp of Provo, who had known Thayne for about ten years. "He just had such a big heart."
Nikki Kilpatrick of Bluffdale knew Thayne since they were children. They both graduated from Jordan High School in 2004. She said Thayne was friends with many people.
"He was really smart," Kilpatrick added, especially with computers.
According to Thayne's LinkedIn profile, he was director of technology and development at Playground Sessions, which teaches music through software.
Thayne was also the co-founder of a company for online language learning and had held numerous other positions dealing with technology, according to his page.
The 30-year-old also spoke some Chinese, according to LinkedIn. Facebook posts show he married a woman from there a few years ago.
Swapp said hearing news of his friend's death is "just crazy."
"He was amazing," Swapp said. "He was incredible. That was his thing."
Through an Intermountain Health Care spokesperson, Thayne's family declined to comment Monday evening to 2News.
A GoFundMe account has been established to help with burial expenses and financial support for his widow.
