DuPONT, Ind. -- The worker killed in a Tri-state trench collapse Friday left nine children, one step daughter, five grandchildren and a grieving wife.

The family of 48-year-old John Mefford describes him as a fun loving family man who was a cowboy at heart.

Mefford lived here in DuPont, about 60 miles west of Cincinnati.

His family was making funeral arrangements over the weekend.

Mefford died working on a Lawrenceburg city sewer project behind the Dearborn County Hospital.

He was in a 15-foot trench when the walls caved in.

Co-workers dug frantically but couldn't save him

It took the Hamilton County Urban Search and Rescue Team more than 12 hours to recover the body.

People who lived near the project said they talked often with Mefford.

"It was very tragic. My wife and me talked with him everyday," said Doug Brookbank. "We didn't really know him, but we felt like we knew him and we're very sad for his wife and child."

An autopsy ruled Mefford's death an accident.

Investigators were still trying to determine what went wrong.