4 children orphaned after mother dies in ice cave collapse, father gunned down

A week after their mother was killed by falling ice, four Moreno Valley children have lost their father, who was shot dead in a bar fight.

The children’s mother, Anna L. Santana, was buried under snow inside a cave in Washington state when unstable blocks of ice collapsed and fell on her June 6 during a hike during a family vacation

As the children grieved the loss of their mother and the community rallied to raise funds for them, they learned their father, Adrian Martinez Cardona, had also been killed.

Cardona and Santana were not in a relationship, and Cardona did not go on the family vacation.

Witnesses told police Cardona, 35, of Redlands, got into an argument Saturday and was asked to leave a bar in the 1900 block of West Rialto Avenue, according to the San Bernardino Police Department.

Cardona was standing near his car outside the bar when he was shot multiple times and died.

No one has been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting.

His death sent shock waves throughout the community, which was working to raise money for Cardona’s and Santana’s children: Two daughters, ages 12 and 14, and two sons, 1 and 8.

The children were with their mother and her fiance last week at the Big Four Ice Caves in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.

Santana’s group and others were hiking inside the caves when snow and ice collapsed on them. She died and five others were injured, including her fiance, her brother and one of her children.

Her body remained trapped in snow and ice in the back of the cave for a day before it could be removed because of the “extremely dangerous conditions,” sheriff’s officials said. The others were rescued and taken to hospitals.

Supporters have set up an online fundraising account for the children and to help pay for funeral expenses. More than $6,500 has been donated so far.

Friends and family are hosting a donation drive from 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday at 1705 N. Rancho Ave. in Colton.

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