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| 2020s |
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| JUN 2024 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Waite Park, Minnesota — A 17-year-old male jumped off a cliff at Quarry Park and Nature Preserve and did not come back up. The Stearns County Emergency Communication Center received a 911call about a possible drowning at Quarry 11 inside Quarry Park and Nature Preserve, located in the City of Waite Park, according to a release. When emergency personnel arrived, witnesses said that a 17-year-old male had jumped off a ten foot-high cliff, into the water and never resurfaced. Witnesses attempted to dive into the water but were not able to locate him, the release said. Members of the Stearns/Benton Dive Team, along with the Waite Park and Saint Cloud Fire Departments, deployed boats and started searching the quarry. At approximately 8:45 p.m. the victim was located in 31 feet of water. News Article 
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| Oct 2023 |
Abandoned Coal Mine Prep Plant Collapse, Inez, Kentucky — One man had died after he and a coworker were trapped beneath a collapsed 11-story building being demolished at an abandoned eastern Kentucky mine's coal preparation plant. The building at Martin Mine Prep Plant in Martin County collapsed around 6:30 p.m. trapping the men working there beneath multiple floors of concrete and steel. Responders made contact with one of the trapped men, but he died shortly afterward. They were never able to locate the other man. News Article
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| SEP 2023 |
Abandoned Brewster Mine Rescue, Brewster, New York — A Somers man was rescued from a Brewster mineshaft after being trapped for over seven hours. The Brewster Fire Department said the man was exploring the mine with four friends when he became trapped after traveling too far. Brewster firefighters Pete Segreti and Keith Rusinko executed a high-angle rope rescue to return the man. The village still has several mines running underground which have been sealed up, the fire department said, but people sometimes still find ways to enter. Source document
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| JUN 2023 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Bettendorf, Illinois — The 16-year-old boy found Saturday night in Bettendorf's Crow Creek Park quarry was from Davenport. The Bettendorf Police Department on Monday identified the teen who drowned as Jermilyn Gardner, a student at Davenport West High School. The police received several 911 calls at 6:27 p.m. of a person drowning in Crow Creek Park. The teen had been swimming in the quarry, according to a news release. Officers launched a boat to help with the search. They found the body in the water at 8:27 p.m. News Article
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| AUG 2022 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, New River, Arizona — Firefighters rescued a teenage boy from an abandoned mine shaft after he fell about 50 feet while driving an all-terrain vehicle in a desert area the northern outskirts of metro Phoenix. The 17-year-old boy was taken by helicopter to the hospital for evaluation after being pulled out of the shaft near New River. Rescuers arriving at the scene found the boy at the bottom of the shaft with the ATV on top of him. The 17-year-old was reportedly somewhat responsive by the time he was pulled out of the shaft, but the extent of his injuries were unknown. Source document
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| JUN 2022 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Gloucester, Massachusetts — An 18-year-old male who died in a quarry was identified as Fabieri Fabert of Everett, according to the Essex district attorney's office. Police and firefighters responded to a 911 call reporting a missing swimmer at Vernon's Pit quarry in the city's Lanesville area at 1:15 p.m. State Police said Fabert had jumped into the water from a high rock with a friend. The friend returned to the surface, but Fabert did not, State Police said. The city's police and fire departments, along with members of the State Police dive team and divers from the Beverly Fire Department responded to the scene. A State Police helicopter searched from above. Divers found Fabert in the water at 2:49 p.m. and rescuers immediately began performing CPR, the statement said. He was then placed in an ambulance and taken to Addison Gilbert Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. News Article
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| AUG 2021 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Manchester, New Jersey — A 22-year-old Bergen County man drowned at Crystal Lake in the Pine Barrens on Sunday evening, police said. Jimy Sadan Gomez-Estrada was illegally swimming in the former mining quarry at the Heritage Minerals site with another person about 6:30 p.m., when both ended up in distress in the water. Gomez-Estrada's companion was pulled from the water by a passerby, but they were not able to reach Gomez-Estrada before he drowned. The victim was later pulled from the submerged quarry by another passerby and lifesaving measures were attempted to resuscitate Gomez-Estrada. He was taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River where he was pronounced dead. News Article
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| JUN 2021 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Waite Park, Minnesota —An 18-year-old man drowned at Quarry Park and Nature Preserve in Waite Park, according to a release from the Stearns County Sheriff's Office. Zakariya Aden Odowa drowned after jumping into Quarry 2, one of two quarries in the park where swimming is allowed. About 8 p.m., Steams County Water Patrol staff were told Odowa jumped off the end of a floating dock in Quarry 2 and never resurfaced. The fire department and Stearns County sheriff's deputies used boats to try and recover Odowa before dive team arrived, but they were unsuccessful. A diver was deployed and located Odowa in approximately 25 feet of water. He was transported to St. Cloud Hospital and pronounced dead. Quarry 2, also known as Melrose Deep 7, is a popular summer swimming spot, surrounded by granite cliffs, and is the deepest quarry in the park at 116 feet at its lowest point. According to the park's website, lifeguards are not present at the park and visitors are asked to swim at their own risk. News Article
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| APR 2021 |
Abandoned Eureka Copper Mine Shaft Rescue, Corinth, Vermont — Police responded to a call someone had fallen in an abandoned copper mine shaft at the Eureka Mine on Pike Hill. The man, who officials said was about 30 years old, tumbled down about 150 feet. Firefighters assembled a twin-tension rope rescue system and lowered two paramedics into the shaft. They then packaged and pulled up the patient in a basket. After his three-hour confinement, the man was transported by ATV to a nearby helicopter, which took him to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. There was no word on his injuries or his identity. Officials said the entire rescue took less than one hour. Source document
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| MAR 2021 |
Abandoned Iron Mine Rescue, Galax, Virginia — Three hikers were lucky to be alive after they were rescued from a mine in Carroll County, Virginia. Three women, in their early 20s, went hiking but got lost in an old, abandoned iron mine. Incredibly, the women were able to call for help after finding they had 1 bar on a cell phone. It was a miracle the girls got any cell signal at all. There's barely reception driving around on the road, let alone a thousand feet underground. It took crews about 45 minutes to find the women until finally, rescuers spotted them. After another 45 minutes of working their way out to safety, the young women thanked the responders from the Galax Volunteer Fire Department who left their families in the middle of the night and put their own lives on the line. Source document
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| OCT 2020 |
Abandoned Colorado No. 2 Mine Rescue, Eureka, Utah — One eighteen-year-old is thanking his rescuers after he was trapped in a mine for at least four hours. Izick Garcia and his friend Moroni Oliveira were exploring caves and mines down in Eureka, when Garcia realized he had gone too far. The two friends had explored a few other mine shafts and caves before reaching a ventilation shaft for the Colorado No. 2 mine. "We went in, and I guess you could say there was a drop," said Garcia. About a 25 to 30 foot drop that Garcia rappelled down in his homemade rope harness. "I was trying to climb up and as soon as I grabbed it, it just started crumbling in my hand," said Garcia. Moments later, the ground beneath his foot crumbled. Police said Garcia and Oliveira did a lot of things right in this situation: they were together, they told others the area they were going to, and they had some equipment. Most importantly, when they realized they were in trouble, they called for help. Nearly four hours after Garcia entered the mine shaft, he was pulled to safety. Source document
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| Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Jacksonville, North Carolina — A teenager drowned while swimming in a rock quarry, a sheriff's office said. Deputies with the Onslow County Sheriff's Office said dispatchers received a 911 call on Saturday regarding a swimmer in distress. The deputies said two people took them to the area where Victor Douglass Morgan, 17, was last seen. According to the sheriff's office, the deputies and volunteer firefighters jumped into the water in search of Morgan, whose body was found submerged about 25 to 40 feet from the quarry's edge. The sheriff's office said first responders performed life-saving procedures before taking him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. News Article
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| JUL 2020 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Manchester, New Jersey — A 23-year-old man drowned while swimming in a lake at a former mining quarry. Edwin Caballero's body was discovered some 16 feet under the surface of the water in Crystal Lake. The "lake" is actually a former open pit mine located on a property known as the Heritage Minerals former mining site. The area is also known by the name ASARCO, because of its previous ownership by the American Smelting and Refining Company. Caballero was last seen on the shoreline of the lake between 5 and 6 p.m. according to police. Family reported Caballero missing late Saturday, but they were unsure if he had returned to the lake or walked into the nearby woods, Manchester police said. State Police Technical Emergency and Mission specialists recovered his body. News Article
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| MAY 2020 |
Abandoned Mine Shaft Rescue, New River, Arizona — After an undisclosed period, firefighters rescued a teenage boy from an abandoned mine shaft after he fell about 50 feet while driving an all-terrain vehicle in a desert area in the northern outskirts of metro Phoenix. The 17-year-old boy was taken to hospital for evaluation after being pulled out of the shaft near New River. No information was released about possible injuries, but a Maricopa County Sheriff's Office spokesman said the boy was alert and speaking with rescuers. Rescuers arriving at the scene found the boy at the bottom of the shaft with the ATV on top of him. Personnel from the Glendale, Daisy Mountain, Phoenix and Peoria fire departments participated in the rescue. Source document
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| MAR 2020 |
Abandoned Mine Rescue, Twentynine Palms, California — San Bernardino County Fire Department search teams staged a daring and complex rescue of a man trapped in a remote mine. County Fire officials received a call from an unidentified explorer in a rural, unincorporated area of Twentynine Palms who had recently left a mine and reported that a partner was still inside and unable to get out. To reach the trapped man, rescuers braved significant hazards within the mine, including unsafe terrain, and high temperatures and humidity, officials said in the statement that described the 15-hour effort. Members of the rescue team crawled through an entrance on their stomachs for approximately 50 feet. After this, they navigated a large drop by skirting around a 14-inch ledge. Secured by safety lines, the firefighters then climbed down a separate, 200-foot drop on a wooden ladder. From there, they encountered another small gap with irregular height, which forced them onto their hands, knees and stomachs for another 150 feet. Rescuers lowered themselves down another sheer drop with ropes before traversing a horizontal tunnel. They found the man at the bottom of an additional 90-foot drop at the end of that tunnel. The total distance the team traveled in the mine was estimated at over 900 feet. A team of six rescuers used a system of ropes and pulleys to hoist the man out of the mine. While exhausted, he suffered only minor injuries and declined transport to a hospital. In total, the man spent roughly 20 hours in the mine. Source document
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| 2010s |
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| In The News |
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| SEP 2019 |
Abandoned Tilcon Quarry Fall of Person Fatalities, Farmington, Connecticut — A Connecticut man desperately tried to save his dad from falling at an abandoned quarry – but they both ended up plunging 75 feet to their deaths. Steven Price, 71, of Bristol, and his son, Mark Price, 31, of Plainville, were riding all-terrain vehicles late Wednesday at the old Tilcon quarry in Farmington with another man when the elder Price stopped and walked toward the edge. The father had walked over, about 7 to 10 feet from the edge, and then hit uneven ground. He then started to tumble and the son grabbed him, but they went down together and fell 75 feet onto rocky ledges and jagged rocks below. Both men were pronounced dead at the scene. News Article
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| Abandoned Quarry Drowning, La Grange, Kentucky — A 62-year-old died Sept. 29 in a possible drowning at Falling Rock Park, a quarry in La Grange, according to Oldham County Police. Dennis Price went scuba diving with another diver at Falling Rock Park around 9:45 a.m. Hours later, another group of divers noticed Price unresponsive at the bottom of the quarry. A few other divers were able to get him to the surface and emergency services were contacted. EMS responded and CPR was attempted unsuccessfully. Price was pronounced dead at the scene. News Article
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| JUN 2019 |
Abandoned Quarry Drownings, Bangor, Pennsylvania — The death of a man who plunged off a cliff into a quarry has been ruled accidental. The Northampton County coroner said Joseph Belverio, 49, of Upper Darby Township died from drowning in the quarry on private land in Bangor. Police were called to the scene shortly before 8:30 p.m. Friday and found him floating face-down in the water. Coroner Zachary Lysek said he "jumped off one of the higher cliffs" more than 100 feet high on Friday night. News Article
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| MAY 2019 |
Abandoned Quarry Drownings, Durham, North Carolina — The body of 18-year-old Nicklaus Brown, who died in the Eno River Rock Quarry, was found Thursday morning, two days after he slipped into the deep waters of the abandoned stoned pit. Brown was found close to where he had jumped in Tuesday night. Sonar scans helped lead divers to the teen, who removed him from the water. News Article
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| APR 2019 |
Abandoned Mine Shaft Fall of Person, Cave Creek, Arizona — A woman who fell into a mine shaft while out for a run north of Phoenix was rescued. Authorities said the woman appeared to have no serious injuries after being pulled from the abandoned mine overnight in Cave Creek. The woman said she went for a run and got lost. She then came across the mine shaft and fell 20 feet. The woman's father became worried when he hadn't heard from her and called the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. Deputies tracked her cellphone and heard her yelling. She was hoisted out by a rope. Authorities said she was expected to recover. Source document
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| OCT 2018 |
Abandoned Gold Mine Rescue, Phoenix, Arizona — An Arizona prospector realized he was lucky to be alive after surviving nearly three days at the bottom of an old abandoned gold mine shaft in the Arizona desert and staring down rattlesnakes. John Waddell, 60, broke his left leg and ankle when the rigging he used to lower himself into the 100-foot shaft about 90 miles northwest of Phoenix broke. He free-fell to the rocky bottom and saw that his left leg "was flopped up and my ankle was going the other way," according to Waddell. He had a cellphone but no service. A flashlight that didn't provide light for very long. And no food or water. Waddell said he killed three diamondback rattlesnakes with a stick before they could strike — including two the first day — and then hung on before he was finally rescued when a friend drove to the mine and heard his cries for help. It took about three hours for rescue crews to lift Waddell to safety and then to a hospital for treatment. Source document
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| AUG 2018 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Westford, Massachusetts — William Lopez, 16, died after swimming in a Westford quarry with some friends when he went under water and did not resurface. "The preliminary investigation suggested the male was swimming with a group of three friends at the time that witnessed him go under and attempted to rescue him," the statement said. The friends, two young males and one female, told fire and police officials they saw their friend struggling in the water. They tried to help him, but they were unsuccessful. News Article
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| JUL 2018 |
Abandoned Quarry Drownings, Fredericktown, Missouri — Attorney General Hawley announced a lawsuit against The Offsets in the Mine La Motte area north of Fredericktown. Hawley's office said at least nine people have died at the swimming hole. Most recently, 21-year-old Safion Livingston of St. Louis drowned in the quarry July 13. Nineteen-year-old Cole Duffell of Chesterfield drowned July 4 after jumping into the quarry. The lawsuit alleges the owners have not hired a lifeguard, put lifesaving equipment near the bluffs surrounding the quarry or posted appropriate warnings. News Article
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DEC 2017 |
Abandoned Mine Shaft Rescue, Golden, Colorado — A 15-year-old was pulled from an abandoned mine shaft near Golden Colorado after more than 3 hours. Crews with the West Metro Fire Rescue rushed to rescue the teenager who was trapped in the old mine shaft. The boy was climbing in the old mine shaft when his rope snapped and he fell about 60 feet down the deep hole. He was already 40 feet down when he fell, so rescuers had to bring him up from 100 feet below. He was rushed to St. Anthony's Hospital for treatment of a broken leg.
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| JUN 2017 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Knoxville, Tennessee — A day after the first drowning of the summer at Fort Dickerson Quarry, the city of Knoxville is taking measures to try to stop people from jumping off the cliffs. The victim of a drowning Sunday evening was a 27-year-old man identified as Dezayas Smith of Knoxville. After the drowning was reported at around 7:45 p.m., a rescue squad worked into the night before the body was recovered in 165 feet of water around 12:45 a.m. Monday. The quarry is more than 200-feet-deep in spots with almost no visibility Smith had apparently jumped off a cliff from a height of 50 to 65 feet and did not resurface, according to the Knoxville Fire Department. News Article
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| MAY 2017 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Tooele County, Utah — Trent Widdop, 27, of American Fork, fell into a mine shaft on his UTV (utility task vehicle) at about 2:00 a.m. while searching for firewood. The UTV lodged in the shaft at a depth of about 15-20 feet, but Widdop fell off the vehicle. He fell 15-20 feet to a ledge and then slid another 50 feet to the bottom of the shaft. His family began searching for him when he did not return to camp and finally located the UTV around 5:00 a.m., when they called 911. Crews from the Utah County Sheriff's office, Tooele County Sheriff's office, Unified Fire Authority, and Tooele County Search and Rescue responded. Search and Rescue retrieved Widdop from the shaft and he was flown to the hospital with serious injuries. Source document
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| Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Marion County, Ohio — A 15-year-old Columbus resident drowned after jumping off a cliff at Quarry Park into the lake during a Saturday afternoon in May. The Marion County Sheriff's Office dive team found Shavon Reid's body in the lake at around 5:45 p.m. May 20, after he was reported missing earlier that day. News Article
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| AUG 2016 |
Keystone No. 1 Abandoned Mine Rescue, Keystone, West Virginia — Three men were found and rescued in the abandoned Keystone No. 1 mine following a search lasting more than 12 hours. The three men found, Justin Bolen, Brandon Collins and Steve Cordle, along with Dustin Bolen and Jimmie were arrested following an investigation into the copper thefts at the mine. A fourth man lost in the mine, Clay Epperly, was never found.
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| Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Rowan County, North Carolina — A 16-year-old boy drowned Sunday while swimming at a quarry in eastern Rowan County. Officials said several people were swimming there and one of the swimmers went under the water and did not resurface. A call made to 911 indicated there was a drowning or diving accident in the 500 block of Balfour Quarry Road. Interviews with people who witnessed the drowning found that the victim went under water and did not resurface while trying to swim across the old quarry, which is filled with water. Divers recovered his body around 1:20 p.m. News Article
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| JUL 2016 |
Abandoned Iron Mine, Iron Ridge, Wisconsin — Three teenage boys got lost in a labyrinthine abandoned iron mine in southeastern Wisconsin for hours, spending the night huddled together against the cold before rescuers found them alive and safe. The three were Tate Rose and Zachary Heron, both 16, and 15-year-old Samuel Lein.
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| Abandoned Seven Slopes of Slate Quarry Fatality, Bangor, Pennsylvania — A 20-year-old New Jersey man was pronounced dead at a popular and dangerous Bangor quarry, according to Northampton County Coroner Zachary Lysek. The Howell, N.J., man was swimming at the abandoned slate quarry with seven other young people. The Seven Slopes of Slate quarry has long attracted swimmers and thrill-seekers - some from far out of the Lehigh Valley - because of its translucent water and100-foot high cliffs. The coroner had not released the man's name at the time of this article. News Article
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| SEP 2015 |
Abandoned Mine Rescue, Adelanto, California — After a man became trapped in an abandoned mine near Adelanto, California, the call was for a vertical shaft mine rescue. The subject was 40 feet down a shaft with a level adit that went on for 20 feet. He had hand over handed down a poly rope to see inside the mine. When his friends tied the rope to a quad and tried to pull him out, the rope broke. He fell a distance back down the shaft, landing on a pile of discarded mattresses at the bottom of the mine. Since vehicles could not access the shaft, equipment was hiked in and pickets were set up for anchors. An EMT from the San Bernardino Sheriff's Cave & Technical Rescue Team was lowered to bring the man to the surface. The subject was unhurt, and after a nearly 8 hour entrapment, he was raised in a harness and declined further treatment.
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| Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Redgranite, Wisconsin — The body of an Illinois swimmer was found in the Redgranite Quarry. Police say the body of Marquis Hough was recovered at about 9:30 a.m. Monday. Authorities began looking for Hough on Sunday afternoon after a report that he went swimming in the quarry and did not resurface. This was the third drowning at Redgranite Quarry this year. News Article
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| JUL 2015 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Monroe Township, New Jersey — Police recovered the body of Darius Boyer, a Williamstown athlete a day after he disappeared from Jackson Road Blue Hole in Monroe Township. Darius was a well-liked football player and wrestler. A man who had been swimming nearby at the time said, "He started choking and he just went under." News Article
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| Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Chenango, New York — The drowning death of a 20-year-old Binghamton man in Chenango quarry has been ruled accidental. Robert Burts had been swimming Saturday in a quarry on private property according to state police. Officials said Burts was swimming with three friends from a dock to a small island 200 yards away when he disappeared. Parts of the quarry, which became flooded over the years, are up to 20 feet deep. News Article
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| JAN 2015 |
Keystone No. 1 Abandoned Mine Rescue, Keystone, West Virginia — In January 2015, a McDowell County man had to be rescued from the Keystone No. 1 mine after entering it to steal copper, officials said (see page 2). The injured man and his partner became separated after entering the mine. The partner made his way out, but the injured man did not. According to a source with knowledge of the incident, the trespasser survived 20 hours in 12 percent oxygen in a rescue effort lasting 6-8 hours.
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| Abandoned Mine Animal Rescue, Tuttletown, California — Molly the cow was rescued from almost certain death at the bottom of a Tuttletown mine shaft by UC Davis veterinarians on Jan. 22. Her owner, Antoinette Nichols, went looking for the family pet Jan. 19 after Molly didn't return to her corral that day. Nichols spotted her in a 30-foot hole. Molly was fed and given water, but Nichols and the Yolo County Sheriff's Office had no way to get her out. After three nights, the Sheriff's Office called UC Davis Veterinary Emergency Response Team to rescue Molly. Nichols was on hand to comfort the 1,200-pound cow as the team began her extraction. "Molly, we ve had since birth," Nichols said. "She's always been special. One day old, she came up to humans, and every now and then you have to dodge her because she gives you a big lick." Molly is a 9-year-old Brahman cow, a breed known for "snorty and aggressive behavior," according to Dr. John Madigan, a professor at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and head of VERT. The response team sedated Molly before bringing her up for their own safety. The team attached her to a lift specially designed by UC Davis veterinarians for picking up large animals and brought her out of the hole. Molly was uninjured and returned to her corral following her rescue. Source document
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| JUL 2014 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Allentown, Pennsylvania — A swimmer whose body was pulled from an abandoned quarry in Allentown's South Mountain Reservoir was identified as Matthew Ruch, 24, of Allentown. Ruch was pronounced dead on July 22nd at 5:33 p.m. by a Lehigh County deputy coroner after the city Fire Department's water rescue unit recovered his body. An autopsy determined that Ruch had drowned, according to the coroner's office, which ruled the death an accident. Ruch had used a rope swing to enter the water-filled quarry in the city's 156-acre South Mountain Reservoir Park, which includes a capped reservoir that is part of the city's water supply system. The coroner's office said witnesses saw Ruch briefly surface after landing in the quarry water, but he went under again while struggling to swim. Authorities said another swimmer called 911 about 4:20 p.m., and the water rescue team recovered his body about 5 p.m. News Article
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| Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Fredericksburg, Virginia — Fredericksburg police have identified a man who drowned while swimming in an old quarry. They said 18-year-old Anthony Mandel Johnson Jr. was swimming toward a rope swing with a female friend when he began to struggle in the water. Bledsoe says the friend and others at the quarry tried unsuccessfully to save Johnson. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital. The incident occurred Monday evening. News Article
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| Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Blacksburg, Virginia — Virginia Tech wrestler Darren Hankins, 21, died after he drowned while swimming in a former rock quarry in Blacksburg, Va., the school said. Hankins was swimming with several other people in a former quarry on private property and began having difficulty staying afloat. His friends couldn't keep him above water. Searchers recovered the body around 7:30 p.m. News Article
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| Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Fairfield County, South Carolina — Authorities said a 26-year-old woman had drowned in a Fairfield County quarry after she hit a tree while jumping into the water. Fairfield County Coroner Barkley Ramsey said divers found Brooke Huffstetler's body about two hours after she went under at the private quarry off state Highway 901 in the northern part of the county. Investigators said Huffstetler jumped into the quarry and hit the tree before but seemed fine. Authorities said someone taping the jump said they didn't get it on video, so Huffstetler jumped again, this time disappearing under the water. The owner of the quarry told investigators he didn't know Huffstetler or the others were on his property. Sheriff's deputies classified the Great Falls woman's death as an accidental drowning. News Article
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| SEP 2013 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Northampton County, Pennsylvania — A Connecticut man died while scuba diving at a former quarry over the weekend. The (Easton) Express-Times says the man was reported missing just after 11:30 p.m. Saturday at the Dutch Springs scuba center and water park. Colonial Regional Police said officers and Bethlehem Township emergency crews responded and found the victim at about 3:15 a.m. Sunday. Northampton County Coroner Zachary Lysek identified the victim as Izydor Poplawski, 46, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Lysek ruled the death an accidental drowning. News Article
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| AUG 2013 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Bolingbrook, Illinois — Bolingbrook High School senior Javier Vera died in August when he drowned in an area quarry. Vera died Aug. 28 while swimming with two other boys, according to Bolingbrook police. The three were swimming laps across part of the quarry in the 1400 block of West 135th Street, officials said. Vera went under the water and did not resurface, according to officials. News Article
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| JUL 2013 |
Abandoned Quarry Rescue, Slatington, Pennsylvania — Firefighters rescued two people stranded after a 70-foot fall Sunday afternoon at a Washington Township, Lehigh County, quarry. Slatington fire Chief Keith Weaver said the fire company received a call about 4:20 p.m. that two people had fallen down a slope in the quarry near the border with Slatington. The accident happened at the "pigeon quarry" one of a series of smaller pits. "There are quarries all over from when they used to mine slate," Weaver said. Weaver said two of the men slipped along the ledge of the quarry and fell onto an outcropping near the water and were unable to get out. Crews brought in two all-terrain vehicles to help with the rescue and emergency personnel set up a staging tent on Seventh Street, which was closed for about three hours during the evacuation. Weaver said crews had to set up ropes and rigging and rappel down to rescue the two men, who suffered only minor scrapes and scratches. He said they were treated at the scene. News Article
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| JUN 2013 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Mooresville, North Carolina — A student at N.C. State University drowned at a rock quarry in Mooresville. Charlotte fire Battalion Chief A.D. Brown says divers recovered the body of Ryan Hayes, 19, of Harrisburg, Tuesday in 25 feet of water at the Carrigan Farms rock quarry off N.C. 150 East. Brown says Hayes had gone to the quarry with several friends. The website for Carrigan Farms said Tuesday was one of the few days that the quarry was open to individuals. It said lifeguards aren't provided, and everyone swims at their own risk. In a statement on the website, officials with Carrigan Farms say their thoughts and prayers are with Hayes' friends and family. News Article
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| JUL 2012 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Ozark, Arkansas — The Johnson County Sheriff's Office reported a 63-year-old Ozark man drowned while swimming in a rock quarry with friends. The sheriff's office said Leonard Gates was swimming Saturday afternoon in a private rock quarry when he briefly went under the water. Authorities said he was pulled from the water and witnesses administered CPR until emergency crews arrived. Gates was pronounced dead at the scene. News Article
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| JUN 2012 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Monroe Township, Michigan — Terence Lee Reid-Lance, 20, of Pontiac drowned while swimming with friends in a Monroe stone quarry, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office said. Reid-Lance disappeared underwater about 9:25 p.m. at the France Stone quarry, the sheriff's office said. Rescuers found his body about 25 feet from the quarry's edge in water that was 35 feet deep. News Article
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| Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Stony Ridge, Ohio — A Toledo teen died following a drowning incident at a quarry east of Stony Ridge. Dayquo'n Marquic'e Brown was pronounced dead at St. Charles Hospital, Oregon, just before 9:30 p.m. Brown was reportedly swimming with friends when he went under the water. His friends were unable to locate him. The Dive Team located Brown and pulled him from approximately 18 feet of water at 8:40 p.m. He was then transported to the hospital. News Article
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| MAY 2012 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Columbus, Ohio — Devon Clark, 20, drowned Saturday after jumping into a quarry on the West Side. Clark died after jumping about 25 feet into the water behind the Runaway Bay apartments with four friends. When he was pulled out by a dive team, he was in cardiac arrest and had been underwater for nearly 45 minutes, said Columbus Fire Battalion Chief Doug Belcher. Police received a call that a man had jumped off the cliff, hit his head and was underwater. Clark was found after a 15-minute search by the dive team, and he was pronounced dead at Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center. News Article
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| MAR 2011 |
Abandoned Mine Shaft Fall of Person, Reno, Nevada — A father of five children died after falling into a Nevada mine shaft so deep and treacherous that rescuers had to abandon efforts to reach him while he was still alive, officials said Saturday. Devin Westenskow, 28, of Evanston, Wyo., had gone exploring Wednesday with two friends during his off-hours when he fell 190 feet into the open shaft northeast of Reno. The decision to end the rescue came after two unsuccessful attempts by search teams to descend into the shaft, where Westenskow was trapped in debris. An attempt Thursday caused walls of the100-plus-year-old shaft to crumble and rocks to fall on rescuers, he said. "One individual was hit in the head by falling rock and it split his hard hat," Sanchez said. "You're talking about two of the best search-and-rescue squads in Nevada, and they finally determined there was no way they could safely rappel down." Westenskow was given last rites Friday. Authorities said he was pronounced dead at 12:30 p.m. that day. Source document
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| NOV 2010 |
Abandoned Mine Rescue, Longswamp Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania — More than 50 rescue workers labored for seven hours to hoist four Berks teenage boys to safety after they found themselves trapped at the bottom of an old mineshaft in Longswamp Township. Camping with four others near Bear Creek Mountain Resort, the teens decided to climb down the mine shaft to explore surrounding caves. A youthful indiscretion, a good story for the grandkids until one of them lost his grip after making it more than halfway down. The unidentified boy fell 30 feet to the shaft's floor, knocking himself unconscious. Three of his friends climbed down to make sure he was OK and realized they couldn't get out, either. They called police and the remaining campers hiked out half a mile through dense woods to meet rescue officers. From there, emergency officials shuttled supplies in via all-terrain vehicle. As dawn approached, emergency workers realized the shaft was much deeper than they expected. Enter the Lehigh County Technical Rescue team, which rappelled down four rescuers to attend to the stricken campers. With hypothermia setting in, paramedics administered warm intravenous fluids to boost their body temperatures. Finally around 9 a.m., the last teen was hoisted to the surface. The rescued boys were taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest for treatment of hypothermia and the fall victim's head injury. Source document
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| 2000s |
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| SEP 2008 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Sierra Vista, Arizona — A spokesman for the U.S. Border Patrol said agents rescued a man who fell into an abandoned mine shaft in southern Arizona. Agency spokesman Rob Daniels said agents were patrolling south of Sierra Vista when they caught a group of 14 illegal immigrants. The immigrants told agents one of their group had fallen down a shaft. Daniels said agents and a local search and rescue crew found the mine and pulled the man to safety after an undisclosed period. The man suffered injuries to his legs, neck and back, but they weren't considered life-threatening. Source document
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| AUG 2008 |
Abandoned Gold Mine Rescue, Sonora, California — Darvis Lee, Jr., 34, was rescued from an abandoned gold mine after tumbling more than 100 feet and spending two nights at the bottom of the dark shaft. Lee fell down the shaft while exploring the mine. Source document
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| SEP 2007 |
Abandoned Mine Shaft Rescue, Chloride, Arizona — A 13-year-old girl who went missing while riding an all-terrain vehicle was found dead in a mine shaft while her 10-year-old companion was rescued with serious injuries. She was transferred to the University Medical Center in Las Vegas. Source document
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| JUL 2006 |
Abandoned Mine Lost Persons, Mammoth, West Virginia — Two men who illegally entered a closed coal mine to search for scrap metal to sell were rescued after they became lost about 3,000 feet inside the mine. Crews found Franklin Johnson, 44, and Glen Edelman, 35, on July 31, a few hours after their search began. They were treated at a hospital and released. The rescuers traced them by following the fumes from a fire the two had set after their flashlight failed as they hunkered down in the mine, authorities said. An expert said they were lucky they didn't set off an explosion or suffocate themselves. The men, who were last seen two days earlier, didn't have any food but there was water in the mine to drink. The mine, which was owned by Massey Energy Inc., was closed in 1993. Source document
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| MAY 2005 |
Rouchleau Mine Rescue, Virginia, Minnesota — Charles Grant and Joseph Kure, both 18, were rescued from the Rouchleau Mine late Thursday and early Friday when rescuers rappelled along the pit wall where the two were stranded. The teens became trapped about 200 feet into the pit, after they apparently walked into it while exploring a trail. A Virginia firefighter rappelled down to Kure, attached a "pickoff" harness strap to the teen, and lowered him to safety. A rescue squad member then rappelled to Grant and lowered him. Neither required medical treatment. Rescue crews worked for about two hours atop a barren edge of the pit to establish a secure rescue location. Source document
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| Abandoned Mine Fall of Person Fatalities, Bentleyville, Pennsylvania — David and Lori Creek were killed when the all-terrain vehicle, or ATV, they were riding went over a cliff, with at least a 60-foot drop, and plunged into Pigeon Creek, drowning the husband, 30, and wife, 32. A steep cliff at an abandoned mine in Bentleyville likely will be bulldozed and the site will be fenced off to prevent tragedies like the fatal all-terrain vehicle accident on Sunday, said state mining officials and the property owner. News Article
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| AUG 2004 |
Unnamed Abandoned Noncoal Mine Rescue, Ogden, Utah — Steve Mahoney, 46, of Ogden suffered a broken leg (tibia-fibula fracture) from a fall in a mine. He had descended an 85-foot winze located 150-200 feet inside the mine using a 75-foot polypropylene waterskiing tow rope. He jumped the remaining ten feet and was injured (how he planned to reach the rope to exit was unknown). A companion summoned help, although she originally denied being in the mine and gave changing stories to emergency responders. The rescue by Weber County Search and Rescue required a difficult in-mine litter hoist to get the victim to an ambulance. Source: Weber County Sheriff Search and Rescue Training Newsletter.
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| JUN 2004 |
Unnamed Abandoned Noncoal Mine Rescue, Utah County, Utah — A 21-year-old Riverton man was hospitalized after falling about 60 feet into a gravel pit on his all-terrain vehicle. Utah County Sheriff's deputies say he was riding with a group of friends around 3:30 p.m. in the Fivemile Pass area when the accident happened. Officers say he drove his four-wheeler through a break in the wall and fell. The man suffered neck and back injuries and several broken bones. He was flown to the University of Utah Hospital. Source: MSHA Stay Out, Stay Alive campaign.
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| SEP 2003 |
Abandoned Mine Shaft Rescue, Santa Fe, New Mexico — Rescuers hoisted a 27-year-old Santa Fe man out of an old mineshaft, more than 20 hours after he fell while climbing into the shaft. The man apparently injured his ankle during the fall but otherwise suffered only minor cuts and bruises. He was taken to St. Vincent Hospital for a routine checkup. The man's family looked on throughout the three-hour rescue operation. Ten yards from the hole, an old cotton-braid rope was tied off to a small shrub. The rope apparently broke after the man climbed into the shaft. Officials weren't sure how far he fell, but he was found at the bottom, about 115 feet down. Source document
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| Cave Rescue of Lost Persons, Harrisburg, Illinois — Following an eight-hour rescue effort, three teenagers made it safely out of a cave at Cave Hill, just west of Glen O. Jones Lake southeast of Harrisburg. The three boys, including Josh Myogeto, 15, Garrett J. Mousey, 19, and Garrett R. Decoursy, 18, told deputies they had been walking, apparently in circles, in the cave between 4 pm Monday and 3:30 am Tuesday. After walking in circles, they determined they weren't going to get out, and sat down to wait and save batteries in their flashlights. In the beginning of the journey the boys had used string to find the way back out but had decided to journey farther than the string could reach. The three were on the brink of falling asleep when they heard the voices of rescuers calling their names, and they immediately yelled back. A rescue team from the Illinois Department of Mines and Minerals arrived about 3:13 am and split up to spread the search out. Finally, at 6:32 am, a mine rescuer radioed out they had found the three and were coming out. Once out of the cave the boys were thirsty tired, cold, and shivering, but none were injured. Source document
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| OCT 2002 |
Barrick Goldstrike Storm Decline Exploration Fatalities, Elko, Nevada — Barrick spokesman Vince Borg said an 11-person crew was assessing an inactive underground shaft at Barrick's Storm Project when two men collapsed. Dale Spring, 49, a member of Barrick's mine rescue team, was pronounced dead at the scene after the October 17 accident. Theodore Milligan, 38, team trainer, was taken to Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital in Elko, then to LDS Hospital, where he apparently suffered a fatal reaction while on dialysis. Authorities said the men apparently suffered heat exhaustion and were overcome by high humidity in the tunnel. The pair's failure to have coolant cartridges installed in their breathing apparatus was identified as a principle contributing factor. Accident Report and News Article
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| JUN 2002 |
Abandoned Blue Light Silver Mine Fatalities, Orange County, California — Santa Ana brothers Nicholas, 23, and Glenn Anderson, 18, died in the flooded abandoned Blue Light silver mine. Officials said they believed the brothers suffocated in the foul air or drowned. The Anderson brothers and Matthew Murphy, 17, entered a mine pool Sunday afternoon. Murphy, a certified diver, decided the opaque water was too dangerous to navigate and declined to follow the brothers any deeper into the cave. They got into about chest deep water, and one of the boys felt an opening under the surface with his hands that led into the next cavern, and they just went in. But Matt just couldn't, wouldn't go any farther. So he left his flashlight pointed toward the opening so the boys could see it from the other side. But none of them knew the air was full of carbon dioxide and methane gas. The mine was entered by seven divers who recovered the bodies. News Article and More Information
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| Abandoned Mine Fall of Person Fatality, Wickenburg, Arizona — The body of a hiker was found in an abandoned mine shaft in the mountains southwest of Wickenburg. Authorities had been searching for the victim, described as a young man. Maricopa County sheriff's officials said the victim and four others had been four-wheeling in the rugged area and then apparently got off their ATVs to do some hiking. News Article
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| MAY 2002 |
Abandoned Mine Rescue, Kern County, California — While riding his dirt bike in a remote part of Kern County, California, a 10-year-old boy fell 200 feet into an abandoned mine shaft. In a rescue which lasted several hours and was executed by the Indian Wells Valley Mine Rescue Team and the Kern County Fire Department, the boy and his rescuer, Sean Halpin, were raised to the surface. The victim was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was kept 24 hours for observation and then released.
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| Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, California City, California — A 12-year-old boy fell 200 feet down an abandoned mine and remained trapped for almost four hours before fire officials rescued him. The boy emerged from the ordeal conscious and without major injuries, said Kern County Fire Capt., Thomas Patlan. He was airlifted to Loma Linda Medical Center. "He was conscious and he helped us out a lot. He's a brave young man," Patlan said. The fire department was notified of the incident at 2:15 p.m. and succeeded in freeing the boy about 6 p.m. Source document
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| APR 2002 |
Abandoned Lead Mine Entrapment, Thida, Arkansas — Volunteers digging by hand rescued two young brothers, their teen-age cousin, and a dog from an abandoned lead mine more than 24 hours after they had become trapped while searching for gold. The trio — ages 9, 11, and 19 — were pulled out of a small pocket about 250 feet inside the Civil War-era mine. They were cold and wet, but otherwise appeared OK, said the teen-ager's father, Terry Foster. "I thought they were going to bring them out dead," Foster said. "I thought they were going to lose their air. I thought for sure the little one would be history." Some people in area believe there is gold in the mine. There was no basis for the local legend that there was gold in the hill in Thida, about 90 miles northeast of Little Rock. Source document
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| DEC 2001 |
Abandoned Anthracite Mine Fall of Person, Shamokin, Pennsylvania — Arnie Campbell, 28, survived a fall of nearly 200 feet into a mine shaft. Rescue crews pulled Campbell from the shaft after more than two hours of work, Coal Township Fire Chief Robert Wariki said. Campbell sustained cuts, bruises, and abrasions. Campbell and an unidentified friend were out driving a four-wheel-drive pickup truck on coal lands northeast of Shamokin about 2 a.m. when they stopped to inspect an old fan house on Big Mountain. As Campbell walked to the rear of the building, he fell down the mine shaft. From what officials could determine, Campbell initially fell 40 to 50 feet, landed on a less inclined area, and then rolled about 30 feet along the "bench" before tumbling and falling another 120 feet. Campbell's friend drove down the mountain to Shamokin to get help. Source document
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| APR 2000 |
Unnamed Abandoned Noncoal Mine Rescue, Utah County, Utah — Randy Gatton, 26, of Provo, was riding a motorcycle with a friend when he fell approximately 30 feet down a mine shaft and landed with the motorcycle atop him. He suffered a sprained ankle, scrapes and bruises. He was in the mine for three hours before being rescued. Source document
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| 1990s |
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| SEP 1999 |
Abandoned Chicago Mine Asphyxiation, Lake City, Colorado — A Texas man suffocated in a mine tunnel near Lake City this week, authorities said. Rescuers discovered the body of Larry Dezinny, 49, a tourist from Tyler, Texas, 600 feet inside the entrance of the Chicago Mine near Henson Creek in southwestern Colorado. A companion and a child exploring the mine with Dezinny left the tunnel when they felt faint. Dezinny died from lack of oxygen, authorities said. News Article
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| AUG 1999 |
Abandoned Strip Mine ATV Fatal Accident, North Fayette, Pennsylvania — The death of a 6-year-old North Fayette girl in an all-terrain vehicle accident highlighted safety concerns raised by federal officials. Ashley Tomko was a passenger Saturday on the four-wheel recreational vehicle driven by her mother's boyfriend, Robert Burgoyne, and she was not wearing a helmet, authorities said. The ATV flipped when climbing a hill on the dirt roads of a former strip mine in the Santiago section of North Fayette near Burgoyne's home, where Tomko lived with her mother. Tomko died of chest injuries, an autopsy determined. News Article
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| MAY 1999 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, York County, Pennsylvania — A 21-year-old man drowned in the Funkhouser Quarry on Atom Road in Peach Bottom Twp., according to the York County coroner's office. Wesley Osborne, of the 4500 block of Flintville Road, was pronounced dead at 8:30 p.m. by Assistant Coroner Steve Cosey. The next day state police in Loganville conducted a raid at the quarry. They arrested 66 people for criminal trespass and one person for driving under the influence police said. News Article
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| DEC 1998 |
Abandoned Stateline Noncoal Mine Rescue, Modena, Utah — Todd Meeks, 36, of Ivins, slipped and fell about 100 feet down a mine while prospecting. He suffered a broken arm, broken leg, and other injuries and was not discovered and rescued until the day after the accident. He was hospitalized in critical condition. Source document
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| SEP 1998 |
Abandoned Granite Quarry Fall of Person Fatality, Quincy, Massachusetts — Christopher Griffiths, 17, of Rockland, had fallen about 200 feet Thursday while venturing onto a ledge looking for sites for future climbing. After losing his grip on a thin cable, which remained from the days when this quarry was mined for granite, he fell to the rocks and into the water as his girlfriend, Kerry Ann Lynch, 17, of Milton, watched. News Article
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| Summer '98 |
Sand and Gravel Mine Fatality, Albany, New York — A 16-year-old youth suffered fatal injuries after his all-terrain vehicle became airborne in an accident at a gravel mine near Albany, New York. News Article
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| AUG 1998 |
Abandoned Clay Pit Fall of Ground Fatalities, East Milton, Florida — Mitchell Bass and three young sisters playing in an abandoned East Milton, Florida clay pit became trapped when a 20-foot-high ledge collapsed during a rainstorm. All three died after being buried by dirt and boulders. The yawning hole became a death-trap on Sunday when a 20-foot-high ledge collapsed during a rainstorm, burying Mitchell and three friends who had taken cover. Only Mitchell survived. 11-year-old Mallory Bush and her sisters, 10-year-old twins Jessica and Jillian, died after being trapped beneath dirt and boulders for about 45 minutes. News Article
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| JUL 1998 |
Sand and Gravel Mine Electrocution, Grand Island, Nebraska — A young boy, Ryan Pochop, age 11, was electrocuted when he contacted a high-voltage power line while sliding down a stockpile at a sand and gravel mine in Grand Island, Nebraska during its offshift hours. Ryan, who was a fifth-grader at Wasmer Elementary School, was sliding down a 25- to 30-feet-tall gravel pile when he came in contact with a high-voltage power line. News Article
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| Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Columbia South Carolina — A 25-year-old Columbia man drowned after jumping into a quarry near an apartment complex. Divers recovered Neal Hardy's body early Thursday. Rescuers initially began the nighttime search with bright lights and a paddle boat but were forced to wait until daybreak. News Article
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| MAY 1998 |
Abandoned Mine Shaft Fall of Person Rescue, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania — A 20-year-old man broke his arm and suffered facial cuts as he fell 60 feet down an abandoned coal mine shaft while hiking with several friends in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. A state trooper and other rescue personnel rappelled into the mine shaft, treated the hiker, and prepared him to be pulled out. News Article
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| APR 1998 |
Mine Shaft Rescue, Acton, California — A man was rescued after being trapped for nearly six hours on a ledge 150 feet down a mine shaft. He was trapped after falling in the 800-foot vertical mine shaft prompting an effort by more than 60 rescuers. He had fallen off a ladder, but details about what he had been doing were unavailable. Source document
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| JAN 1998 |
Abandoned Mine — Dog Rescue, Avra Valley, Arizona — A male Chow Chow — hungry, thirsty and too weak to stand — was rescued from an abandoned mine shaft where firefighters said the dog may have been trapped up to a week. Ten firefighters and rescue workers from Northwest Fire District worked for nearly 90 minutes to lift it safely from the 30-foot-deep pit in Avra Valley. The Pima County Animal Control officer who took the dog to the county shelter, said it hadn't eaten in at least a week. The dog was treated for dehydration, malnutrition, infections in both eyes, and minor injuries it received from the fall into the shaft. Source document
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| Abandoned Mine Drownings, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — A Jeep filled with six friends joy-riding across an abandoned strip mine plunged through the ice into a water-filled pit, killing all but one. The sole survivor used his head as a battering ram to break the icy surface. Joseph Ruse, 24, stood shivering on the edge of the 15-footdeep pit for about 15 minutes New Year's night, hoping someone else would make it out alive. No one did. By the time he led police along five miles of dirt roads more than four hours later, the water had frozen over the pit, hiding the three bodies still in the Jeep and the two others resting just under the ice. News Article
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| MAY 1997 |
Abandoned Lead Mine Fall of Person, North Buena Vista, Iowa — Jesse Schmidt, 14, suffered two broken wrists May 20 when he fell down the shaft of an abandoned lead mine on his grandmother's farm in southeastern Clayton County. Schmidt had started to climb into the 80-foot shaft to see a cart at the bottom. While descending into the shaft, which was about a yard square, he changed his mind. His older brother, Nick, and a friend began pulling him to the top. The rope broke and Jesse plunged about 60 feet to the bottom of the shaft. It took rescuers two hours to bring the injured boy out of the shaft, one of dozens of old lead mines that dot the countryside near Dubuque. News Article
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| APR 1997 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Maysville, Ohio — Dustin Gamble had been riding his 4-wheeler on the Midwest Portland Cement property Wednesday afternoon, when he fell down an old mine shaft. He was found by his mother, Jill Gamble, about 9:30 a.m. Thursday and was later pulled from the pit at 11:46 a.m. He severely broke his right leg and had surgery at Genesis Health Care's Good Samaritan Medical Center to insert stabilizing pins Friday afternoon. News Article
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| JUN 1996 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Winchester, Wisconsin — A 14-year-old boy drowned while swimming in an abandoned quarry. The body of Justin A. Eckstein was pulled from the quarry by Winnebago County Sheriff's Department divers. Eckstein was attempting to swim from a rowboat to shore when he experienced unknown problems and went under. News Article
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| Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Mauckport, Indiana — An 18-year-old man drowned while swimming at a southern Harrison County quarry with friends. The body of Eric Jason Bowles of Mauckport was recovered at 5:30 p.m. after Indiana State Police and Indiana Conservation divers searched the Lucas Corp. quarry in Mauckport. The men were swimming across a 150-yard span about 2:15 p.m. when Bowles tired and began to struggle. Friends tried to help him, but Bowles began to pull them under. Eventually, Bowles sank and couldn't be found in the murky water. News Article
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| FEB 1996 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado — Shannon Danley, 23, was rescued uninjured after he fell into a mine shaft on Cheyenne Mountain. Danley apparently walked about 25 feet into the shaft and then fell about 30 feet down a vertical shaft. Danley's fianc e and a companion flagged down a passing deputy, who tried unsuccessfully to rescue Danley before calling for additional help. He was brought to the surface at about 3 hours later with rope burns to his left hand. He apparently was searching the mine shaft for gold when he fell. Source document
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| JAN 1996 |
Abandoned Gearhart Mine Asphyxiation, Mesa County, Colorado — Poisonous gas claimed the life of a 20 year old Mesa County man who ventured too far into an abandoned mine just east of Mount Garfield on Saturday, authorities said. The man's two friends sat in rescue vehicles as fire department personnel, dressed in air tanks and masks, tried to reach their friend — 100 yards deep in the gated Gearhart coal mine. The names of the victim and his companions, one of who also is 20, were not released pending notification of relatives, said Rick Wagner of the Mesa County Sheriff's Department. News Article
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| AUG 1995 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiations, Grants Pass, Oregon — David Harp, 35, of Merlin, and his partner, Michael Mayall, 38, of Grants Pass, died Thursday afternoon, apparently overcome by carbon monoxide from a generator they took down the abandoned shaft of the old Tiptop Mine, located in the Siskiyou Mountains, eight miles southeast of Cave Junction. Earlier that same day they had gotten their mining claim notarized in Grants Pass. News Article
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| Abandoned Quarry Drowning, South Knoxville, Vermont — Aaron Leigh Creighton, 21, apparently drowned in the 200-foot-deep South Knoxville quarry after being bitten by a snake. Creighton dove into the quarry and began thrashing in the water, went under three times, then disappeared Police said Creighton had "marks on his chest consistent with snake bites," but that Creighton died of drowning. News Article
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| MAY 1995 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Gaffney, South Carolina — An 11-year-old boy drowned after falling into the Limestone College quarry while fishing with his older brother and cousin. A college security guard, Frank Pittman, 53, who pulled one of the boys from the water, died of an apparent heart attack about an hour after the incident. The body of Peair Hicks was pulled from the water at 5:37 p.m. Police said Hicks slipped into the water at about 12:25 p.m., but his playmates were unable to save him. News Article
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| FEB 1995 |
Unnamed Abandoned Noncoal Mine Rescue, Tooele County, Utah — Mark Hoefnagel, 20, and Anthony Ballif, 23, both of Sandy, crashed their Jeep through a fence and plunged 50 feet down a mine shaft around 3:00 p.m. They survived the fall and were able to get out of the vehicle, but not climb out of the shaft. The two were rescued around 7:30 by another party of off-roaders who heard their calls for help. Hoefnagel was hospitalized in serious but stable condition with internal injuries; Ballif was treated for minor injuries and released. Source document
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| JUN 1994 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Westerly, Connecticut — Fred Hein, 20, drowned while swimming in an abandoned quarry. Police divers found the body of Hein almost four hours after his friends saw him go under. His body was found at the bottom of a section of the quarry about 65 feet below the water level. News Article
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| APR 1994 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Bainbridge, Pennsylvania — A Lancaster County man drowned in a quarry while diving with his scuba class, police said. Divers pulled Kenneth Goetz, 42, from the water about 10 p.m., an hour and a half after he disappeared. Goetz was certified to dive after taking a beginning-intermediate scuba class last month. He was taking an advanced class with two other students and his teacher when he died in the Bainbridge Sportsman's Club quarry. "This was his first night dive." The class bad been diving in 20 feet of water, Good said, but Goetz's body was pulled from water 40- to 50-feet deep. It was the fourth scuba diving death in the quarry since 1991, according to the Lancaster Sunday News. News Article
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| MAY 1993 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Whiteford, Maryland — A 17-year-old from Aberdeen drowned in the Whiteford quarry where he had been swimming alone, the Harford County Sheriff's Department said. Matthew Brian Evans had been with six juveniles and an adult who did not swim. The youth's companions tried to answer his calls for help but failed in four attempts to rescue him. News Article
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| FEB 1993 |
Abandoned Mine Animal Rescue, Tooele County, Utah — On February 14 several members of the Tooele County Search and Rescue were called and asked to participate in an unusual rescue. A lion hunter and his dogs had chased two mountain lions to an abandoned mine. One dog and both lions fell down an 80-foot-deep vertical shaft. The dog was miraculously lassoed and pulled from the shaft the day before, however, the two lions remained trapped. Randy Callicoat was repelled into the shaft by members of the rescue team with the very much alive lions. A tranquilizer dart was used to incapacitate the two animals. The lions were then hoisted from the 80-foot shaft. Source document
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| Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Tucson, Arizona — Two Tucson teen-agers were rescued after spending about five hours in a Tucson Mountains mine shaft that their friend escaped to call for help. About 30 rescue workers tugged on a rope that trailed down the sides and middle of Beehive Peak to retrieve Scott Brown and Jay Turcott, both 16, who got stuck after rappelling into the shaft. Paramedic Dane Crouse, who went down the 60- to 80-foot-deep hole to check on the teens conditions, was pulled up after them. The three-hour rescue took place near West Bilby and South Palomino roads on Tucson's southwest side. Turcott had rope bums on his hands and a scrape on his elbow. Brown and Larry George, 15, were not injured, Crouse said. Source document
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| DEC 1991 |
Rocky Mouth Canyon Mine Rescue, Sandy, Utah — Adam Smolensky, 19, of Sandy crawled through a steel barrier installed by the UAMRP to enter the mine around 8:30 a.m. and fell into a 25-foot-deep winze located about 20 feet inside the mine. Passers-by discovered him around 1:15 p.m. and summoned his parents, who unsuccessfully tried to rescue him. Smolensky was finally rescued by Sandy Fire Department and Salt Lake County Search and Rescue crews about 3:00 p.m. Smolensky was hospitalized with a shoulder injury. Sandy firefighter Tad Norris suffered a broken nose during the rescue when a steel bar being removed from the entry hit him in the face. Source document
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| NOV 1991 |
Unnamed Abandoned Noncoal Mine Rescue, Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah — Kent Parker, 16, of Sandy fell down a 50-foot shaft near Alta while snowboarding. He did not see the shaft until he was airborne in it. His companions did not see him fall and continued down the mountain. He was trapped for 90 minutes before being discovered. It took an hour for rescuers to remove him from the shaft. He suffered a concussion and hypothermia and was hospitalized for several days. Source: Salt Lake Tribune, November 3, 1991.
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| SEP 1991 |
Unnamed Abandoned Noncoal Mine Rescue, Tooele County, Utah — Terry Blackburn, 16, of South Jordan was hiking with two friends after dark to camp near the rim of the Kennecott pit. Around 10:30 or midnight Blackburn stumbled 20-30 feet into a 4-foot-wide ventilation shaft. His friends summoned help, but were unable to relocate the shaft for some time. Blackburn was not rescued until 5:25 a.m. He suffered a broken leg, four broken teeth, and cuts and bruises. Source document
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| MAY 1991 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Tucson, Arizona — A 30-year-old Tucsonan, Paul Cantenella, fell 30 feet down an abandoned mine shaft "didn't even break a nail." The inadvertent spelunker was target shooting with three friends about 35 miles northwest of Tucson Wednesday when he decided to explore a cave. The "cave" turned out to be the entrance to a vertical mine shaft — one of about 95,000 abandoned mines in Arizona, officials said. While hiking in the desert about 15 miles west of Red Rock, he and his three friends noticed the opening to what looked like a cave. Cantenella entered the cave alone and walked about 20 feet before coming to a fence. He said he stepped through an opening in the fence and began walking slowly toward what he thought was a continuance of the cave. What followed was a bumpy fall, darkness, and the stench of a dead animal. The Tucsonan had tumbled into an abandoned mine shaft with a decaying javelina, which had fallen to its death a few days before Cantenella's fall. Craig Bushelle, 21, said he was nearby when he heard "rocks falling and a couple of moans." After determining what had happened, another friend, Joe Buffo, 27, tried to descend the shaft to rescue Cantenella. Buffo went down about 12 feet before realizing the shaft was too deep. After a four-hour wait, he was extracted by a Pima County search and rescue team along with Cantenella. Source document
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| DEC 1990 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Lavelle, Pennsylvania — A rescue crew of nearly 50 worked for five hours to save a teen-age boy who fell into a mine shaft while hunting. William L. Hubler, Jr., 16, of RD1 Ashland, sustained injuries during the 30-foot fall. He was listed in satisfactory condition at Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, where he was flown by medical helicopter. "It's a very treacherous area very steep and rocky," said state Trooper H. Thadd Dillon, explaining why the rescue took so long. Also, rescue workers were unsure whether the teen had a neck or back injury and needed to be cautious, he said. Emergency workers from Lavelle, Washington and Yorkville fire companies used ropes, chains, and a Stokes rescue basket to haul Hubler from the abandoned hole, Dillon said. Yorkville Fire Company was called in because of its mine rescue equipment. Two or three workers went down into the shaft to secure the boy in the Stokes basket. He was then hoisted up, according to Dillon. The shaft is about 80 feet long, 30 feet wide and 60 feet deep. Hubler landed on a rocky ledge about 30 feet from the top. "Because of the area being so steep, rescue workers had to use chainsaws to cut a path to the road so they could carry him out quickly and safely," Dillon explained. "That was time consuming." According to the trooper, Hubler was hunting with his father, William Sr., and several other people when he fell. Source document
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| NOV 1990 |
Abandoned Mine Rescue, Cave Creek, Arizona — Michael Clark, 18, fell 60 feet into an abandoned mine shaft, breaking both legs and a hip, but survived. It took rescuers nearly 10 hours to extract Michael Clark, 18, from the mine near Cave Creek after his fall. Clark was camping with friends in the Tonto Hills area when they decided to explore a mine tunnel. They had walked in about 300 yards when Clark fell through flooring. Source document
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| AUG 1990 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Edenville, Pennsylvania — A Fayetteville man drowned in the Edenville Quarry, the site where one of his brothers died 15 years earlier. Patrick F. McMinn, 31, was pronounced dead at Chambersburg Hospital. He died of asphyxia due to drowning, according to Franklin County Coroner. McMinn had jumped into the quarry from a 30- to 40-foot cliff. McMinn landed on his back when he hit the water. McMinn was under water for about six minutes before being pulled to the surface. See May 1975 for information about the drowning death of his brother, Neal Michael McMinn. News Article
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| 1980s |
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| SEP 1989 |
Joshua Dennis, a 10-year-old gone missing from a Boy Scout exploring trip, was rescued after nearly one week from the abandoned Hidden Treasure Mine near Stockton, Utah. The boy was found by a Utah Power and Light Company mine rescue team, ranked among the best teams in the country. Information About the Movie News Article 
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| AUG 1989 |
Abandoned Lorman Mine Rescue, Twentynine Palms, California — Jeff Smith, 29, was lifted from the mine after an undisclosed period by a rescue team from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. The 240-pound Smith and two friends had lowered themselves by rope into the 85-foot deep Lorman Mine. They were climbing out of the mine when a rock dislodged and broke Smith's arm. His friends lowered Smith to the floor of the mine. They intended to use the ropes and their car to pull him out, but the car would not start. One friend found some members of a ham radio operators group that notified authorities, who dispatched the rescue team. Source document
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| Abandoned Mine Asphyxiations, Grand Junction, Colorado — Three teen-agers who collapsed and died while exploring an abandoned coal mine apparently were felled by suffocating gas so deadly that "all it takes is one breath" to kill, a mine expert said. A fourth member of the group was in serious condition, suffering from oxygen deprivation. Killed were Chistian Rossman, 15; Catherine Schrettner, 16, and Greg Folchert, 17. Another youth, Frank Warner, 16, was in serious condition at St. Mary's Hospital after being pulled from the cave. News Article
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| JUL 1988 |
Abandoned Monarch Noncoal Mine Rescue, North Willow Canyon, Utah — Phillip Butterfield, 15, entered the mine portal without a flashlight or safety gear and slipped down a 30-foot winze. His father, William Butterfield, 44, went after him and could not climb out. They were rescued by the Tooele County Sheriff's search and rescue unit. Source document
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| Abandoned Maxfield Noncoal Mine Rescue, Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah — John Mazuran, 16, and two companions tried to explore a winze located about half a mile inside the mine. Mazuran lost his footing about 60 feet down and slid another 100 feet to the bottom. He was unable to climb out. His friends summoned the Salt Lake County Sheriff's office, which performed the rescue. Source: Deseret News, August 4, 1988.
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| MAY 1988 |
Unnamed Abandoned Noncoal Mine Rescue, Fivemile Pass, Utah — John Carlson, 25, of West Valley City was lowering himself into the mine when the rope broke. He fell approximately 50 feet and sustained minor injuries. He required rescue by the county search-and-rescue team. Source: Deseret News, May 22, 1988.
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| MAY 1987 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Pinos Altos, New Mexico — A 17-year-old was rescued about seven hours after he had fallen about 90 feet down a mine shaft west of Pinos Altos, New Mexico authorities said. He was taken by helicopter to Gila Regional Medical Center, Silver City, where he was treated Thursday for a broken leg and cuts. Source document
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| Abandoned Mine Accident, Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania — A state Game Commission worker was in stable condition this morning after being rescued from the bottom of a 60-foot shaft after an accident while on a bat-counting expedition. James Kennedy of Uniontown, was one of about 10 people helping with an annual census of the endangered Indiana bat inside the cave and abandoned mine in Canoe Creek State Park. Source document
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| JAN 1987 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Twentynine Palms, California — A 20-year-old Marine who fell into a 40-foot-deep desert mine shaft was rescued after an undisclosed period by sheriff's deputies. The deputies from a San Bernardino County search and rescue team hoisted Andrew Poll from the bottom of the shaft. Poll, stationed at Twentynine Palms, suffered only scratches in the fall and did not require medical treatment. Source document
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| DEC 1986 |
Abandoned Mine Shaft Fall of Person, Tinton, South Dakota — A Sturgis youth was rescued
from an abandoned mine shaft in the Tinton area by the Spearfish Search and Rescue Unit. Authorities said Shane Anderson, 15, of Sturgis received minor injuries when he fell about 25 feet while exploring the hole with a companion. Authorities said the pair had apparently forced open the protective grate covering the shaft and were using a knotted rope to climb down into the 45- to 50-foot-deep hole. Terry Wenzel, a member of the rescue team, said the youth landed in about four feet of water at the bottom of the shaft and the water probably broke his fall. Wenzel said the rescue team was able to maneuver a truck near the shaft and winch the boy out without difficulty. Anderson received only minor abrasions and a jammed knee in the accident. He was taken to Lookout Memorial Hospital for treatment. Source document
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| SEP 1986 |
Abandoned Mine Cave-in, Pilot Knob, Missouri — About 30 tons of rock fell onto a teen-age boy in an abandoned mine, and rescuers using heavy equipment took more than 17 hours to roll a boulder aside to free him. Gerald Dwayne Easter, 17, was freed and flown to St Mary's Health Center in Richmond Heights, a St Louis suburb, where he was listed in serious but stable condition after surgery. Easter became trapped in the mine on Pilot Knob Mountain when a shaft wall collapsed and the boulder fell on his legs, said Don Wynn, the Pilot Knob fire chief. Source document
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| Abandoned Mine Fall of Person Fatality, Gleeson, Arizona — A 15-year-old Phoenix boy died after falling down an abandoned mine shaft near Gleeson while rock hunting, the Cochise County Sheriff's Office reported. Sgt. Don Kyte, public-information officer of the Cochise County Sheriff's Office, said that Neal Severance died of a skull fracture after falling about 150 feet. Kyte said the boy was rock hunting with his uncle and a younger brother when he fell into the mine. News Article
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| JUL 1986 |
Limestone Cave Entrapment, Durango, Colorado — Thad Scheer, 17, who got stuck in a crevice while exploring a limestone cave and was trapped more than 10 hours. Scheer and Keith Dahl, 25, were in satisfactory condition at the hospital suffering from exposure and hypoxia. Dahl became trapped when he reached down to try to pull Sheer out and got wedged in the narrow passage Scheer had been trapped 100 yards inside the cave and about 50 feet below the surface for more than 10 hours and Dahl was trapped upside down for nearly five hours before they were rescued. The rescue effort involved more than 100 people from 16 public agencies and nine private contractors and local businesses Scheer said he was "just walking along exploring" in the cave when he climbed into a crevice and "got stuck pretty good." "Once I got down in the little hole there was no way to climb out," he said. "So, I curled up in a little ball and I guess I passed out for most of the time." Sgt. Dan Bender of the La Plata County Sheriff's Department said some of the openings in the cavern were 18 inches by 18 inches. "Rescuers used jackhammers and air compression drills to carve their way out," Bender said. "There were several times where we had serious doubts whether either one would be taken out alive." Source document
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| JUN 1986 |
Weaver Mine Entrapment, Durango, Colorado — Rescuers freed a teen-ager who became wedged in a narrow shaft off a limestone cavern, and also freed a rescue worker who got stuck head-first while trying to pull the youth to safety. Thad Scheer, 17, and Keith Dahl, 28, were brought to the surface of the old Weaver Mine, as the cavern 23 miles north of Durango is known and taken to Mercy Hospital. Both men were conscious and talking, said Sgt. Dan Bender of the La Plata County sheriff's department. Their rescue ended a 12-hour ordeal that included more than 100 people from 16 agencies and 10 local contractors, said Bender. Scheer became wedged deep in the cave when he was about 100 yards from the entrance and slid 10 feet down an 18-inch shaft. Scheer's companions reported the mishap a half hour later. A professional mine rescue crew from Silverton arrived at the site and about an hour later one of the rescuer workers slid head-first into the shaft, Bender said. Initially Scheer was unconscious, and the other man slipped in and out of consciousness, but oxygen fed through tubes brought both back to consciousness, said Bender. Rescuers using mining drills were able to free the two but bringing them to the surface took another two hours. The two were removed from the cavern on a 5-foot-wide path that has 25-foot drop-offs along the way and in some places is just 24 inches from the rock overhead, Bender said. Workers were "crawling on their bellies and pulling the stretchers" to get to the surface, Bender said. Source document
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| APR 1986 |
Abandoned Quicksilver Mine Rescue, Guerneville, California — Rescue crews pulled a tired and thankful teenager from a 150-foot abandoned mercury mineshaft Saturday night where the luckless explorer was trapped for more than six hours. Rick Gloege, 18, of Sebastopol was hoisted with rope and harness by firefighters and the Sonoma County sheriffs rescue and search team from a carved room 150-feet down the mercury mineshaft where he had been stuck. The youth, who described himself as a professional tree climber now working at a pizza restaurant, said he was stranded in the shaft at the old Quicksilver Mine when he was unable to find the footing and strength needed to pull himself 30 feet to a ledge. Neither Gloege nor his 19-year-old friend Jeff Brown, who didn't enter the mineshaft, were injured in the incident. Gloege spent about three hours trying to pull himself out of the mineshaft Saturday afternoon before Brown drove into town for help at the Guerneville firehouse. Source document
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| JAN 1986 |
Ophir Canyon Mine Shaft Rescue, Ogden, Utah — An Ogden Scout leader, Steven F. Stanford, 65, was rescued from an Ophir Canyon mine shaft by Tooele County Search and Rescue volunteers. Mr. Sanford had trouble with his equipment when hiking the mile route to the cave and the five boys accompanying him went ahead of him. While searching for the boys, however, Mr. Stanford made a wrong turn and fell down a 70-foot incline, then dropped another 20 feet to the bottom of the cave. The Scout leader had suffered a broken wrist, strained knee, and sprained ankle from the fall, Deputy Park said. Rescuers hoisted him out from the cave and administered first aid. After walking out of the cave, Mr. Stanford was placed on a stretcher and transported down the mountainside. He was taken to the Tooele hospital. Source document
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| OCT 1985 |
Abandoned Maxfield Mine Rescue, Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah — Two brothers missing for 2 days were found in an abandoned mine where they had been lost in darkness since their flashlight went out. Dennis Workman, 26, and his brother Scott Workman, 25, were found by teams led by a Sheriff's deputy. The use of dogs helped pinpoint them. Source document
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| JUN 1985 |
Abandoned Lead Mine Rescue, Thida, Arkansas — Volunteers digging by hand rescued two young brothers, their teen-age cousin and a dog from an abandoned lead mine Monday, more than 24 hours after they had become trapped while searching for gold. The trio — ages 9, 11 and 19 — were pulled out of a small pocket about 250 feet inside the Civil War-era mine. They were cold and wet, but otherwise appeared uninjured. Source document
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| APR 1984 |
Blazer Crashes into Abandoned Anthracite Shaft, Llewellyn, Pennsylvania — Six young people out for a fun evening of off-road riding on Sharp Mountain on April 28, 1984, encountered mining's legacy with fatal consequences when the Chevrolet Blazer in which they were riding went down an abandoned mine shaft. Two days later, one of rescuers looked into a mine shaft and saw the rear tires of the Blazer. An intensive effort followed over the next five days to recover the victims' bodies. This task was not only grim, but dangerous and complex because of the instability of the site and the difficulty in transporting equipment used in the rescue. Steel rods were put over the shaft and concrete poured. The six victims were Mark Bluis, 21, and his wife, Connie, 21; Steve Meza, 21, and his wife, Patrice, 16; and Thomas Frew, 22 and Sheryl Bluis, 22. News Article Web Page
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| MAR 1984 |
Abandoned Tungsten Mine Fall of Person, Visalia, California — Joel Baca, 22, was listed in stable condition at Valley Medical Center in Fresno after he fell about 100 feet down an abandoned tungsten mine shaft. Tulare County sheriff's deputies said Baca and his brother were checking the mine shaft when Joel Baca fell into the opening. His brother rushed to the nearby Chrisman Ranch to get help. A sheriff's rescue team lifted Joel Baca from the shaft and a California Highway Patrol helicopter transported him to VMC. Deputies said he suffered facial and head injuries. The mine was on the Chrisman Ranch in Drum Valley, 20 miles east of Orosi. Source document
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| SEP 1983 |
Abandoned Gold Mine Fall of Person, Kings Mountain, North Carolina — An 18-year-old man rappelling down the side of a deserted gold mine shaft lost his grip on his rope and fell 40 feet to the bottom of the pit. Kings Mountain Rescue Squad members spent an hour checking over Edward Allender, then tied him into a wire basket stretcher and hauled him 60 feet to the top of the mine shaft. Allender was taken to Kings Mountain Hospital, complaining of hip and leg injuries. The hospital refused to release his condition. Source document
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| JUL 1982 |
Unnamed Abandoned Noncoal Mine Rescue, Fivemile Pass, Utah — Kerry West, 24, was recovering from his injuries at Utah Valley Hospital in Provo after he and his motorcycle fell 30 feet into a mine shaft. The accident occurred in the area of Five Mile Pass, near the Utah-Tooele County border. Mr. West and a friend were riding dirt bikes in the area when the victim apparently rode up a pile of mine tailing which led to a vertical mineshaft. He and the motorcycle fell about 30 feet to the bottom of the shaft. The bike apparently struck a ladder near the bottom of the shaft, which is believed to have broken the fall. Mr. West suffered a broken leg and other injuries. He was rescued by members of the Utah County Sheriff's Office and by personnel from the Lehi Ambulance Association. Source document
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| JUN 1982 |
Banning Mine Shaft Asphyxiation, West Newton, Pennsylvania — A 24-year-old West Newton man was found dead in a mine shaft of the Banning Mine of Republic Steel Corporation, which was being sealed. The body of James Terry Toman was found on a 10-foot landing of an 80-foot shaft of the mine near West Newton by a repairman. Westmoreland County Coroner Leo M. Bacha said his deputy, Gerald Fritz, and two state policemen started to get sick, apparently from gas fumes, when they tried to retrieve Toman's body from the landing. Firefighters with gas masks were summoned to retrieve the body. Fritz said that Toman had been in the area of the mine with a girlfriend Wednesday night. He said they separated, and she had not seen Toman since. Fritz said there was a strong possibility that Toman fell into the mine. News Article
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| MAY 1982 |
Abandoned Strip Mine Fall of Person, Tamaqua, Pennsylvania — A MedEvac rescue helicopter was used to evacuate a seriously injured Tamaqua youth to the Allentown and Sacred Heart Hospital Center (ASH) after he had fallen 100 feet into an abandoned strip mine. Mark Rudenko, 15, was in serious condition in the ASH Shock Trauma Unit with head injuries, a collapsed left lung, a broken clavicle and possible internal injuries, a hospital spokesman said. Rudenko was found at the bottom of the strip mine by Jack Brode, a neighbor, who had been walking his dog along the mountainous ridge that overlooks Tamaqua Area High School. The 50-year-old Tamaqua man ran about a quarter mile to his home and called the Tamaqua police, who later arrived with the Tamaqua Rescue Squad. Michael Lincovich, a rescue squad official, said it took about a half hour to retrieve the youth from the rocky pit. It was not known how long the boy had been there. Source document
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| FEB 1981 |
Centralia Mine Fire Fall of Ground, Centralia, Pennsylvania — 12-year-old Todd Domboski narrowly escaped serious injury when he fell through an opening created by a smoldering underground mine fire at Centralia. Residents were shocked when they learned that he fell through the opening while playing in his grandmother's yard but was rescued by his teen-age nephew. The boy told authorities he noticed smoke rising from the ground in the yard. When he went to look at it, his foot broke through the surface, the ground opened up and he slipped through, dropping about 6 feet before he was able to grab some tree roots. "If he didn't have a red hunting cap on, I wouldn't have found him," said Eric Wolfgang, who pulled the stunned boy to safety. Todd was taken to Ashland Hospital where he was tested for inhalation of carbon monoxide fumes and released. The fire, which started in an underground vein of coal, has been burning below this Columbia County community of 1,000 since 1962. Todd was the first person known to have fallen through an opening, although smoke is often seen rising from holes in the ground. Officials of the state Department of Environmental Resources took a temperature reading of 350 degrees in the hole. Neighbors, looking at the 2-foot hole after the rescue, tossed a brick down the shaft to see how deep it was. It was quite a few seconds before they heard the brick hit bottom. Source document
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| OCT 1980 |
Two men, David Aubuchon and Guy Hayton, and the car they were driving were rescued after spending 4 days at the bottom of a vertical shaft of the University of Arizona experimental mine near Tucson. They had crashed their car through a barbed-wire fence protecting the shaft entrance. Following their rescue, the men were questioned by Pima County Sherriff's detectives about the burglary of $700 worth of tools from the mine. Apparently no charges were filed. Source document
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| Abandoned Mine Shaft Fall of Person, Florence, Montana — A teenager was hospitalized after he and a companion spent about eight hours trapped in an abandoned mine shaft 12 miles east of Florence. Dan Wall, 18, reportedly fell about 50 feet while he and Tim Harris, 17, were climbing in the mine in Eight Mile Canyon. Wall was listed in stable condition at Community Hospital in Missoula. A spokesman said he was suffering from shock and had pain in the chest and pelvic areas. Harris was hit by falling rock but was not seriously hurt. Source document
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| FEB 1980 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Barstow, California — The local sheriff's search and rescue team and mounted posse assisted in the rescue of a motorcyclist who fell down a mine shaft in the Victor Valley area. Mark Hillman, 23, of Anaheim was riding his bike when he fell down a 150-foot-deep mineshaft. The shaft was on Bureau of Land Management property. Two companions who had been riding their motorcycles with Hillman called authorities, who then called in the Barstow Search and Rescue squad and posse a short time later. After several hours of work, Hillman was pulled from the hole and transported to St. Mary's Desert Valley Hospital for treatment of multiple fractures. Source document
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| 1970s |
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| NOV 1979 |
Abandoned Mine Shaft Fall of Person, Glen Lyon, Pennsylvania — Following a systematic ground search conducted by the Civil Air Patrol, a Glen Lyon hunter who had fallen into a mine ventilator shaft was rescued. The hunter, Andrew Sweeney, had been missing for more than two days when he was located. Sweeney, who had fallen into the shaft and was on a ledge 80 feet below ground. Rescue efforts were begun immediately, and a medic was lowered into the shaft to make sure Sweeney was alright. Two men were then lowered into the shaft to help put Sweeney in a harness and pull him out of the shaft. Approximately 150 Civil Air Patrol members from Hazleton, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Reading and Allentown, assisted with the successful search and rescue effort. Source document
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| JUL 1979 |
Unnamed Abandoned Noncoal Mine Rescue, Eureka, Utah — Sean Winters, 13, Christian Brown, 14, and Curt Conrad, 17, of Eureka, and their dog decided to explore the mine. The dog ran ahead and fell down a winze, landing on a ledge of rotting timbers 35 feet down, with a shaft of unknown depth below. The boys left and returned with a rope. They lowered Winters down to the ledge to retrieve the dog, but he got stranded there instead. The others summoned help. Winters and the dog were rescued by the Juab County sheriff. Williams suffered scratches and bruises, shock, and a possible concussion from a rock that fell on his head. Source: Eureka Reporter, July 27, 1979.
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| JUL 1978 |
Unnamed Noncoal Mine Rescue, Rock Canyon, Utah — Don Bateman, 16, of Castro Valley, California, suffered cuts and bruises when he fell 25 feet into a shaft in Rock Canyon. He was exploring the mine with two companions at the time. His companions summoned help. Bateman was rescued by the then new Provo City Alpine Rescue Squad. Source document
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| SEP 1977 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Prosperity, Missouri — A rural Joplin youth emerged with only minor bruises after a 60-foot tumble down an abandoned mine shaft. Kevin Rumble, 15, spent about an hour trapped in the water-filled old shaft before rescue workers retrieved him by rope. Rumble and another youth were exploring the area around the shaft, when Rumble slipped and plummeted into water about 60 feet from the top of the 140-foot shaft. Clinging to some old boards, he managed to keep himself above water while his friend flagged down a passerby in a dune buggy. The motorist tossed a rope down to Rumble, then attached the other end to his vehicle until rescue workers arrived. A Jasper County Deputy Sheriff was lowered by rope into the shaft to retrieve the youth, who was then taken to a Joplin Hospital for examination. Preliminary reports showed a possible broken rib, but no other serious injuries. Source document
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| AUG 1977 |
Jefferson Mine Rescue, Cottonwood Heights, Utah — A 17-year-old Salt Lake City youth was rescued unhurt from the Jefferson mine about 8 p.m. Monday but not until he spent four frightening hours perched on a narrow ledge. The youth was one of five to walk into the mine through a tunnel. They found the four-foot diameter shaft rising to the surface on the mountain above. The youth climbed up the shaft to tie a rope to a beam. When he climbed to the break, he found that it wasn't safe. That was about 4 p.m. The rest of the party tried to rescue him, but couldn't. They called the sheriff from nearby homes. Source document
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| MAY 1977 |
Abandoned Mine Cave-in Fatality, Randsburg, California — A South Pasadena man was killed during the Memorial Day weekend when the roof of an abandoned mine caved in on him, authorities said. Sheriff's deputies said the victim, Jack Springer, 57, and his brother, Frank, were exploring one of numerous abandoned mine shafts in this area Saturday when the accident happened. Frank Springer told deputies the cave-in occurred when his brother attempted to move a large boulder on the floor
of the unshored mine. Other weekend prospectors in the area helped dig out the victim and he was taken to Ridgecrest Community Hospital where he was pronounced dead. News Article
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| SEP 1975 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Dallas, Georgia — Gary Holcomb, 22, was riding through woods in Paulding County when he went over a small bluff and found himself heading straight down into a 65-foot-deep abandoned Coppermine shaft. Rescue workers who spent two hours Monday pulling Holcomb from the mine shaft, said, "I don't see how it didn't kill him." Holcomb suffered a broken arm, a severe burn on his ankle, cuts, and bruises. Source document
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| MAY 1975 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Appleton, Wisconsin — Richard Procknow Jr., 15, drowned in the quarry where he had swum previously. His parents were unaware that he had gone there Wednesday. Procknow, a sophomore at Appleton High School West, was supposed to be in school at the time. According to police, Procknow probably slipped from a rocky ledge where he and his companions were sitting sunbathing. He fell into about 30 feet of water. Berlin police said one of Procknow's friends tried to rescue him three times but was unsuccessful. News Article
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| Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Edenville, Pennsylvania — A Fayetteville man drowned in the Edenville Quarry while on an outing with friends. Neal Michael McMinn, 22, was swimming with companions and attempted to swim across the quarry when he went under about 30 feet from the east shore. McMinn was pronounced dead at the scene after State Police divers located his body. See Aug 1990 for information about the drowning death of his brother, Patrick F. McMinn. News Article
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| MAR 1975 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Calico, California — Billy Loenhorst, 13, was reported to be in good condition at Victor Valley Hospital following a fall into a 50-foot mine shaft in the Calico area. Billy was with a group from Redlands, hiking in the Doran scenic drive area northeast of Calico, when he apparently fell into the shaft, sheriff's deputies said. Several members of the group from Redlands were hiking and exploring in the area which is dotted with abandoned shafts when the youth fell. The Barstow sheriff's substation was notified, and an all-out rescue effort began. A total of 20 members of the desert rescue team participated in the removal of the youth from the shaft. Billy suffered a fractured left arm and numerous cuts and abrasions in the fall. The sheriff's deputies and other members of the rescue team had Billy out 1 hours after they were notified. He was then taken to the hospital by Desert Ambulance service. Source document
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| JAN 1975 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Calveritas, California — William Kerr, 31, escaped injury in a 35-foot fall down in a mine shaft. Kerr, his mother, and their family dog were walking in a field near their home when the dog fell down the 75-foot-deep shaft. Kerr got a rope and began lowering himself down the shaft to retrieve the small dog. The rope broke when Kerr reached the half-way mark and he fell to the bottom of the shaft. Mrs. Kerr ran to a nearby telephone and called sheriff's deputies for help. Officers pulled out both Kerr and the dog with the aid of safety harnesses and lines. Kerr suffered only minor cuts and abrasions and the dog had no apparent, injuries, officers said. Source document
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| DEC 1974 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Roof, Ironton, Ohio — A cave-in at an abandoned mine killed two men when tons of coal, dirt and rock fell on them. Charles Shope, 23, and Walter E. Stacey, 18, stepbrothers, were identified as the victims. The men had apparently been carrying coal from a three-foot seam and loading it into a truck. News Article
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| MAR 1974 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Pittsburg, California — Eddie Hulteen Jr., 14, suffered a fractured skull when he fell 30 feet down an abandoned mine shaft near Pittsburg. Hulteen was in critical condition at Delta Memorial Hospital, Antioch. He had been hiking with his sister, and two other youths through Coal Mine Park south of Pittsburg when he apparently lost his footing and fell 30 feet into the old mine. The rescuers, using a litter and ropes, had him out of the shaft in about an hour. He was taken by helicopter to the hospital. Source document
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| Abandoned Mine Shaft Entrapment, Chester, Massachusetts — An 18-year-old who became trapped while exploring a mine shaft was pulled to safety, state police said. Felix Munez became trapped after he lowered himself to the bottom of a 90-foot shaft while exploring with a companion, identified as Richard J. Barus of Manchester, N.H. Source document
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| DEC 1973 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Fallon, Nevada — A California teenager was in the Washoe Medical Center after being rescued from an abandoned mine shaft. Doug Gard, 18, of Lafayette, suffered serious back, neck and shoulder injuries when he fell almost 50 feet down a mine shaft that he and three friends were exploring. Gard and his three companions were exploring the mine with Gard in the lead when he fell. Their only light, a flashlight, was carried by the third man back in the group. When the rocks and dirt stopped falling, the three could hear Gard moaning. They climbed down an old wooden ladder to find Gard some 50 feet below. He was conscious and said he was numb from the neck down. After rescuers arrived, it took almost an hour to lift Gard out of the shaft to a waiting helicopter. The helicopter took him to the Washoe Medical Center in Reno where he underwent emergency treatment. Source document
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| Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Tucson, Arizona — Weston Wilson, 27, was rescued about five hours after he fell into a 40-foot abandoned mine shaft near Wasson Peak in the Tucson Mountains. Wilson was taken to Tucson Medical Center with a fractured leg, dislocated hip and two broken legs. Sgt. Ted Brandes of the Pima County Search and Rescue Squad said that Wilson, his wife and four of their friends were hiking in the area and found the cave entrance. They told Brandes they went inside to explore the cave. Just inside the entrance, Wilson fell into the shaft. Dr. Christopher J. Heller and two members of the rescue squad were lowered into the shaft. Heller applied splints to Wilson who was then put on a stretcher and hoisted to the surface. Helicopters from Davis Monthan AFB flew Wilson to the medical center where he was listed in satisfactory condition. Source document
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| OCT 1973 |
Abandoned Old Forge Colliery Fall of Person, Old Forge, Pennsylvania — A 10-year-old Old Forge boy narrowly escaped death when he fell 40 feet down an abandoned mine shaft at the Old Forge Colliery. Old Forge police said Michael Scarnato's fall was broken at the 40-foot level by some old roofing material jammed in the open shaft. He could have fallen a lot further down the shaft they said. As it was, the youth suffered cuts and bruises and had to be taken to Community Medical Center after his rescue. Police said Michael and several of his friends were playing near the shaft when he got too close and fell in. Despite his 40-foot fall, Scarnato remained conscious during the entire time he spent in the shaft. The Moosic Hose Company provided personnel and equipment and supervised the rescue operation. Source document
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| JUN 1972 |
Abandoned Mine Rescue, Garden Valley, California — Lowell T. Simpson, 17, was rescued from an abandoned mine shaft after spending seven hours 50 feet below the ground-level opening. Sheriff's Deputies said Simpson and two other youths were exploring the old mine shaft by use of a rope when Simpson could no longer hold on and slipped down the rope. He suffered severe rope burns on his hands. A Sheriff's spokesman noted that Simpson was fortunate he did not fall farther down the shaft than he did. He explained that a pile of dirt from a previous mine cave-in broke Simpson's fall, preventing the youth from continuing down the shaft. Source document
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| MAR 1972 |
Abandoned Silver Queen Mine Fall of Person, Calico Ghost Town, California — A Compton youth was in satisfactory condition last night after a 150-foot fall down the main shaft of the Silver Queen Mine at Calico Ghost Town, located northeast of Compton. Darrel Avery, 19, was taken to Barstow Community Hospital where he was treated for a broken leg, cuts, and bruises. He and his brother, David, 23, entered a horizontal shaft in the mine and apparently got lost before Darrel fell into the main vertical shaft around 3 pm, said Sgt. Gerald Hanna of the Barstow Sheriff's substation. A timber protruding from another shaft broke his fall, saving him from dropping to the bottom which is full of water and debris. His brother climbed about 200 feet to the top of the boarded over shaft and summoned help. Two sheriff's deputies and 10 men from the Barstow Desert Search and Rescue Team rushed to the mine to start rescue operations. Volunteers Charles Jefferson and Eldon Haskell were lowered 350 feet into the main shaft and pulled the trapped youth out at about 6:50 pm (4 hours later). Source document
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| FEB 1972 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Miami, Oklahoma — A motorcyclist was critically injured when he and his bike plunged 80 feet into a crater created by an abandoned mine shaft near here. Unconscious and listed in critical condition at Tulsa's Hillcrest Hospital was Sammy Dowling, 23, who plunged into the opening as he topped a chat pile about 200 feet high. Dowling and a group of friends had come from Claremore to ride their motorcycles over the towering piles of mine tailings that dot the countryside near Miami. Two rescuers were lowered by rope to rescue him. They placed him in a wire stretcher that was hoisted to the surface by spectators and officers who gathered at the scene. The crater apparently was formed when a mine tunnel beneath the pile collapsed. Source document
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| JAN 1972 |
Abandoned Red Rooster Gold Mine Fall of Person, Adelanto, California — A 19-year-old rockhound was rescued 3 hours after he fell 160 feet down the shaft of an abandoned gold mine. Alan Chamberlain of Adelanto, who was lifted out of the mine on a stretcher, was taken to the March Air Force Base hospital with a broken right thigh and hand and numerous cuts and bruises. Sheriff's deputies said Chamberlaine had been investigating a 15-foot deep side shaft at the Red Rooster gold mine in the foothills of Shadow Mountain. After dragging a box full of equipment from the hole, Chamberlain stepped backward into the main shaft and fell to the bottom, striking timbers several times on the way down. A friend called for help and a sheriff's department search and rescue team along with two tow trucks arrived several minutes later. Deputies said Dave Stever, a member of the rescue unit, was lowered down the shaft about 50 feet above Chamberlaine but the deputy was painfully, but not seriously hurt when he struck a timber and had to be brought out. A civilian volunteer was lowered next and he managed to reach the youth and give him first aid before he was placed on a stretcher and pulled out by winch and cable nearly three hours later. Authorities said the gold mine had not been worked in nearly a decade and no barricades or warning signs were posted near the mine as required by law. Source document
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| NOV 1971 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Scottsdale, Arizona — Steve Ball, 14, was listed in satisfactory condition after he was rescued from a 150-foot-deep mine shaft near Scottsdale. He sustained arm and shoulder injuries when he fell into the mine. Ball was hiking in the area with several companions when the accident occurred. Officials said Ball was the sixth person to be pulled from this abandoned mine shaft in two years. Source document
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| SEP 1971 |
Abandoned Mine Cave-in, Shawnee, Ohio — Two youths trapped in an abandoned mine shaft for more than two hours were rescued by a special mine rescue team headed by State Mine Inspector Ralph Dean of Glouster. The youths were identified as Alan Foley, 14, and Kenneth Eugene Gottke, 17, both of Shawnee. They were trapped in an old truck mine on the Dave Lewis property some 300 feet deep in the shaft and 100 feet to the south of the main shaft in a small chamber. When the pair had gone further into the mine to retrieve equipment, there was a huge rumble and the whole front of the mine shaft caved in. Rescuers uncovered some heavy rocks from the small slit entrance and were able to talk to the youths and to urge them to crawl "with precaution" toward them. Gottke sustained a minor cut on the left forearm and Foley received a bump on the head. Source document
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| AUG 1971 |
Abandoned Mine Roof Fall Fatality, Gold Hill, Utah — A 19-year-old ore hunter died in an abandoned mine underneath this ghost town when the roof of an underground cavern collapsed and dropped 15 tons of rock on him. "He had been in there just 10 minutes when the roof fell in," said Tooele County Deputy Sheriff Marion Carver. Carver said David E. Cureton, his father, Forest, and his younger brother, Michael, 11, had arrived at Gold Hill, 60 miles south of Wendover on the Nevada border, just before David went into the stope, or man-made underground cavern. Carver said Volunteers from the Utah Highway Patrol and nearby salt and potash mines extricated the body. News Article
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| FEB 1971 |
Abandoned Emery Mine Fall of Person, Westfield, Massachusetts — A 10-year-old Chester boy who was rescued after an undisclosed period from an abandoned 70-foot mine shaft of the Emery Mine near Westfield was reported in fair condition in a hospital. He suffered a fractured pelvis and cut left arm in a 60-foot fall. Gary Lutat was exploring with two friends when he fell into the shaft, after trying to climb down using a clothesline. Source document
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| NOV 1970 |
Hasting Mine Fall of Person, Deemstown, Pennsylvania — Harry T. King, 25, was seriously injured when he fell about 300 feet after slipping from a cable in a shaft of the Hasting Mine at Deemstown, Pennsylvania. King was rescued four hours after he fell. Firemen had to enter the bottom shaft through the mine and plodded a mile and a half to reach King. The mine is owned by Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation. Harry Dale King, 21, cousin of the injured man, also had been sliding down a cable but saved himself by stepping onto a beam about 350 feet from the bottom of the shaft. Companions were outside the mine and called police when the Kings failed to return. Source document
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| Abandoned Mine Shaft Fall of Person, Sparks, Nevada — A Sparks boy was rescued after he became trapped for two hours in an abandoned 110-foot mine shaft. Chris Hammond, 12, suffered a cut on his right leg but otherwise was unharmed before firemen pulled him to safety. Hammond and a friend, Stephen Marcoe, 12, were exploring an area dotted with abandoned shafts. Hammond said he attached a rope to a fence and climbed down the shaft. The rope broke about 25 feet from the bottom. The Marcoe boy ran for help. Source document
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| JUL 1970 |
Abandoned Gold Mine Lost Persons, Winterhaven, California — High temperatures and poisonous gas stalled efforts to rescue two Marines missing and presumed dead in a maze of tunnels in an abandoned gold mine near this desert community. Officials said the missing men and two other Marines, all stationed at the nearby Yuma Marine Corps Air Station in Arizona, climbed down into the mine Saturday. The missing Marines were identified as Cpl. Robert Knight, 20, of Buffalo, NY., and Lance Cpl, Jorge Lopez, 20, Omaha, Neb. The mine is the Senator Gold Mine, 18 miles from Yuma on the California side of the border. A spokesman for the Navy said the missing men were presumed dead. News Article
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| JUN 1970 |
Hazard Gold Mine Asphyxiation, Foresthill, California — Amateur miner, Clifford J. Cox, was pulled out of the abandoned Hazard Gold Mine near Foresthill, California when he was found laying unconscious after 11 hours in the mine. Would-be rescuer, Lester Benbow, a school teacher, died from a lack of oxygen in the incident.
Source document
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| MAY 1970 |
Silver Reef Mines Fall of Person, Chuichu, Arizona — A 17-year-old Casa Grande youth who survived a 130-foot fall down a mine shaft was rescued late Saturday after some 25 volunteers worked for nearly seven hours to free him. Roy Pair was exploring the area with two companions when he lost his grip on a rope and fell to the bottom of a 150-foot mine shaft at Silver Reef Mines south of Chuichu. Papago Policeman Dan Martinez, who supervised the rescue gave the account of the incident. Pair was exploring the mine with two other youths, Willard Crawford, 18, and Steve McBride. The same shaft nearly claimed the life of another youth, Leonard Corvelli, two years ago on February 24, 1968. Martinez, in urging persons to stay away from the old shafts, noted that there are several on the reservation and most are not marked. He said there was nothing of value in the area. Source document
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| 1960s |
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| NOV 1969 |
Abandoned Bull Mine Shaft Fall of Person, Monroe, New York — A 22-year-old physical education teacher lost his life when he apparently slipped from a rope and fell in a 100-foot abandoned mine shaft. State Police at Monroe said Walter Kersavage had tied a rope to a tree and was attempting to lower himself down the shaft when he slipped. News Article
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| FEB 1969 |
Abandoned Mine Roof Fall Fatality, Gordon, Kentucky — Ronald Dale Halcomb, age 14, who was assisting his father in getting coal from an opening of an abandoned mine for family use, was killed instantly by a fall of roof. Accident Report and News Article
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| NOV 1968 |
Abandoned Coal Mine Lost Persons, New Straitsville, Ohio — Terry Allen Collin, 11, flashed a bright smile on his grimy face after being lost for more than 24 hours in a mine and said, "I'm all right, Mom." Terry and Stephen Perrin, 19, had crawled through a cave-in leading into the mine. They wandered through the mile-long, meandering tunnel of the coal mine which had been abandoned about 50 years ago. The youths lighted candles, stepped through a "clubroom" filled with model airplanes, old snakeskins and then began exploring deeper than they had before. "I left my jacket at the entrance," Terry said. "So, anybody coming along would know we were inside. We had candles when we started, but they didn't last so long. So, we just sat down and waited. I kept dropping off to sleep and then waking up. Boy it wasn't easy down there. It's not so warm." Several dozen rescuers from a sheriff's office, local fire departments and the State Bureau of Mines took part in the search. Source document
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FEB 1968 |
Silver Reef Mines Fall of Person, Chuichu, Arizona — Luck of the Indian gods stayed with a California teenager yesterday when he tumbled 150 feet to the floor of a derelict silver mine on the Papago Reservation near here and limped out with bruises. Leonard Corvelli, 13, was hauled back to daylight with a grazed face and hands, bruised legs, shock, and fright from spending five hours in the jet-black underground. Corvelli was recovering in St. Joseph's Hospital, Phoenix. The boy was on a field trip to the Silver Reef Mine, 11 miles south of here on White Horse Mountain, with 10 companions from Villa Santa Cruz School, Toltec City. Tour supervisor Bill Maitland, recreation director at the school, told the boys not to venture near shafts at the 87-year-old mine. But according to Sgt. Minor Stephens of Pinal County sheriff's office, Corvelli decided to explore on his own and descended a 100-foot ladder to the mine's first level. Then, said Stephens, Corvelli walked 20 feet into a dark tunnel and fell into a shaft leading to the second level. The boy tobogganed down a 20-foot incline and then dropped 150 feet straight down. Hearing rocks dislodged by the tumble, Maitland counted heads, discovered Corvelli missing, and went for rescuers. Rescuers rigged a leather saddle cinch and lowered it to Corvelli. The boy, still conscious, was able to sit in the makeshift Jacob's ladder for the long pull to safety. In 1969, Daniel Martinez was given a monetary reward for his efforts in Corvelli's rescue. Source document
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| DEC 1967 |
Abandoned Clay Mine Rescue, Wellsville, Ohio — After becoming lost in the abandoned clay mine for 30 hours, Mike Sanfrey, age 19, and Harry Reibold, age 18 were located and rescued by Columbiana County Sheriff's deputies. The youths were found more than a mile from the mouth of the mine. Source document
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| AUG 1967 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, China Lake, Nevada — A 14-vear-old China Lake boy was reported in good condition after being rescued from the bottom of a 50 foot deep abandoned mine shaft. Gilbert Soto, the boy who was rescued, and Allen Comb, also of China Lake, were exploring while on a visit to the Wheeler Ranch, some 70 miles east of Bakersfield. Soto accidentally dropped his pellet gun into the shaft. He lowered himself into it but lost his grip and fell to the bottom. The Kern County sheriff's office summoned the China Lake mine search and rescue group which pulled young Soto out. Source document
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| Cave Shaft Fall of Person, Powell, Tennessee — Rescue workers hoisted a mud cake, semi — conscious young cave explorer to safety 11 hours after the youth fell to the bottom of a 70-foot shaft. His right leg broken, and his face battered by the fall, 17-year-old John Cheka was rushed to a hospital after being pulled from the cave aboard a wire basket that had been lowered to him by rope. Two companions, Vernon Bruner, 20, and John Connell, 20, helped rescue workers save Cheka. The youths entered Carpenters cave, which slices a quarter of a mile deep into copper ridge in the foothills of the great Smoky Mountains. John was repelling down the side of the shaft when his rope broke, said Bruner, a junior at the University of Tennessee. Source document
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| MAY 1967 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Salt Lake City, Utah — Melanie Beck, 17, was rescued from the bottom of a 150-foot mine shaft where she had fallen not once but twice. She was lifted from the near-vertical shaft by deputy sheriffs using ropes and a basket stretcher. It took nearly 2 hours to bring her out. Melanie suffered a broken arm, head lacerations and a possible concussion in the fall. Source document
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| APR 1967 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Concord, California — A 17-year-old Concord high school boy, out hiking with friends, fell into an abandoned coal mine shaft and had to be hauled to safety after an undisclosed period by Concord firemen. The youth, Charles Frederickson, was able to strap himself into a stretcher firemen lowered and was pulled the 30 feet to the top. He was under treatment for back injuries at Concord Community Hospital. Source document
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| MAR 1967 |
Well Shaft Fall of Person, Votaw, Texas — 2-year-old Teresa Fregia was pulled from a well where she had been trapped nine hours, inches above the water. A middle-aged rescuer had himself lowered into a shaft beside the well and smashed a hole in its tile walls with a hammer. "I pulled on her and I heard her bones crack, and I knew I was hurting her, but I had to get her out," said R.S. Bill Jr., 46, who heads a Houston rescue group. Bill found the girl knotted almost in a ball where she had been lodged since 6:30 p.m. EST Friday, breathing piped-in oxygen. She survived the entire ordeal with only minor scratches. Smashing a hole in the side of the well at the 22-foot level, Bill pulled her through and was brought to the surface on a rope, holding her in his arms. Source document
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| JAN 1967 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Johannesburg, California — John Hawkins, 15, suffered a broken pelvis and cuts and bruises in an 80-foot fall at Johannesburg and was in fair condition at a Ridgecrest hospital. Hawkins slipped into a loosely covered shaft 40 miles east of Mojave while searching with three cousins for old whisky, medicine and other bottles which are sought as collector's items. He disappeared without anyone immediately realizing it. He was located after an intensive all-night search by 40 deputies and members of the Kern County sheriff's search and rescue team, a helicopter from China Lake Ordnance Test Center and a group of local miners. On the same day, some 68 miles away, Gordon Mahoney, 37, a silver mine explorer from Anaheim, sustained a broken shoulder and ankle as well as facial cuts when he fell 20 feet down a shaft near Barstow. Source document
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| Abandoned Silver Mine Fall of Person, Barstow, California — Gordon Mahoney, 37, a silver mine explorer from Anaheim, sustained a broken shoulder and ankle as well as facial cuts when he fell 20 feet down a shaft near Barstow. Mahoney was exploring an old silver mine with W. V. Thornton of Barstow, who summoned San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies to carry Mahoney out in a wire basket. On the same day, some 68 miles away, John Hawkins, 15, suffered a broken pelvis and cuts and bruises in an 80-foot fall at Johannesburg. Source document
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| AUG 1966 |
Abandoned Mine Shaft Fall of Person, Springfield, Missouri — A Springfield youth fell and injured himself in an abandoned mine shaft, but rescuers brought him out, mud covered, within two hours. Eighteen-year-old Charles Stoner was taken by ambulance to a hospital suffering from a fracture in his leg or back. A rope broke while he was lowering himself in an old lead mine. He dropped about 50 feet. His companion, 19-year-old Paul Montgomery, crawled back out of the shaft and flagged down a sheriff's office patrolman for help. Montgomery, a student at Southwestern Missouri State College, told officers he and Stoner entered the shaft about 8 am to explore. They descended the original shaft about 40 feet, then crawled 300 feet to where they found a rope. Stoner began to lower himself 50 feet into another area, but the rope broke. Rescuers scrambled into the hole in the eastern part of Springfield. They strapped Stoner to a cot. Covered with mud and moaning from pain, the youth was brought out and carried to the ambulance. Source document
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| APR 1966 |
Abandoned No. G- 22 Mine Roof Fall Fatality, Martin, Kentucky — A miner, William Conn, age 41, was killed in a roof fall while he was getting coal from an abandoned mine opening for personal use. Accident Report
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OCT 1965 |
Wildcat Cave Entrapment, Hinckley, Ohio — A fifteen-year-old boy was rescued after being trapped for 24 hours. He was wedged in a crevice 10 inches wide and three feet high and was found tilted downward at a 45 angle. Consultation and assistance was provided by employees of the Ohio Division of Mines. Source document
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| Abandoned Mine Shaft Fall of Person, Porterville, California — James Roberson was recovering from an ordeal during which he lay unconscious at the bottom of a 150-foot mine shaft for an undisclosed period. Roberson and two 17-year-old friends, David Seaton and David Jurkovich, were exploring a deserted mine east of Porterville in the Sierra foothills one at a time. Using a 200-foot rope Robertson got down all right but, on the way, up became entangled in the rope. He fell 50 feet. Seaton descended to help but dislodged a large stone which hit Roberson in the head knocking him unconscious. Officers summoned by Jurkovich used a rope sling to pull Roberson 30 feet to a side tunnel and carry him out. He suffered rope burns on his hands and a deep head cut. Source document
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JUN 1965 |
Abandoned Brenizer Mine Fall of Person, Brenizer, Pennsylvania — Sixteen-year-old John Wayne Rager narrowly escaped serious injury or death as his curiosity got the best of him, trapping him in a 35-foot-deep abandoned ventilation shaft at Brenizer mine until Blairsville firemen rescued him. Rager entered the air shaft through an opening where a heavy steel door had been pried loose. Once inside the room at the top of the concrete shaft. Rager tied a rope to a handrail and started to descend into the opening. As he reached a point about halfway down the shaft, he was unable to hold to the rope and started to slide as his hands were burned by friction. He dropped the remainder of the way, falling seat first as he described it, into rotten lumber at the base of the shaft. The rescuers work was made difficult by cramped quarters in the room, but a ladder finally was placed in the opening. Leonard Kelly descended the ladder and tied a rope to the youth, now huddled in a blanket for warmth. The two ascended the ladder and Rager was taken to Dr. Samuel Cohen in Blairsville for treatment. He reportedly suffered some shock and was treated for this and returned home. Source document
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| Abandoned Mine Rescue, Carterville, Missouri — A Webb City youth, Henry Dunaway, 15, spent an unhappy hour on a ledge about 55 feet down an old mine shaft Saturday before he was rescued by the Carterville Volunteer Fire Department. Dunaway lowered himself to the ledge on a small rope to collect pigeons nesting there. Fifteen feet below the ledge the water begins. No one knows how deep it is. He got between 50 and 60 birds — the sack weighed about 50 pounds — and tried to go back up the rope — but he was too small, and he cut his hand. City Marshall Everett Tannehill said a friend of Dunaway s, who happened to be in the area, heard him and ran to get a member of the Volunteer Fire Department. Source document
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MAY 1965 |
Wasatch Mountains Cave Rescue, Salt Lake City, Utah — A University of California graduate student was rescued in critical condition after 36 hours in a 1,170-foot-deep cave high in Utah's Wasatch Mountains. James Dowling, 24 dangled on a rope in the freezing cave for more than two hours. Part of his weight rested against a collapsible ladder. Mountain climbers and spelunkers inched into the cave, wrapped him in a down-filled sleeping bag and tugged him out foot by foot. He was taken to St. Marks Hospital, where attendants said his body temperature was more than 20 degrees below normal. He was semiconscious and in shock. Source document
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| APR 1965 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiation Fatalities, Pikeville, Kentucky — Three men were found dead In an abandoned mine, apparently victims of carbon monoxide poisoning. A still was also found in the mine. Everett Brown, an inspector for the Kentucky Department of Mines and Minerals, said the men became trapped when the entrance to the mine, which hadn't been worked in almost 30 years caved in. The victims were Millard Price, 23, Donald Ratliff, 50, and Ervin Bowens, 45. News Article
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| MAR 1965 |
Abandoned Mine Cave-in Fatalities, Harlan, Kentucky — A sack containing perhaps 50 pounds of coal lay near a body, mute evidence of tragedy that befell three youngsters searching for fuel in an abandoned mine. The three sons of miners were crushed beneath a 75-ton rockfall Monday. Miners and pickets, who often
patrol this southeastern Kentucky coal field in labor disputes, worked together in a rescue party that dug against the danger of another roof cave-in to remove the bodies. Dead were Rodney Gross, 17; his brother, George, 12; and their cousin, Tommy Gross, 13. Ralph Gross, 15, brother of Rodney and George, lagged behind the coal seekers and escaped. News Article
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JAN 1965 |
And then there was this chain of events that produced one of the more unusual rescues seen here. Would-be rescuer Johnny Miller became lost for 9 hours in a Dewar, Oklahoma abandoned mine while searching for Jackie Madewell, age 23. Madewell was a Tulsa County prisoner being held on a bad check charge. He apparently convinced a Tulsa police detective to allow him to enter the abandoned mine in search of stolen loot taken in nearby burglaries. When Madewell failed to return to the surface, Johnny Miller, a retired miner, went into the mine to locate Madewell, but he got lost instead. The story ended well when additional rescuers located Miller and Madewell came out of the mine on his own with his light turned off. There was no news of discovering the stolen loot. Source document
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NOV 1964 |
Abandoned Quicksilver Mine Fall of Person, San Jose, California — To Eric Proter, 12, of San Jose, the abandoned quicksilver mine suggested adventure and the unknown. But it almost became his grave Friday. The boy crawled about 150 feet into the lateral shaft when he fell suddenly into a 10-foot-deep hole. His cries were heard by a companion who summoned help. Highway Patrolman Americo Gonsalves crawled into the hole and rescued the boy. Source document
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| MAY 1964 |
Abandoned Mine Rescue, Trumbull, Connecticut — Two Boy Scouts were trapped in the abandoned main mine shaft at Old Mine Park for 2 hours while a third scout was corralled by a four-foot protective fence, unable to summon help for the trio. Police said Andrew Kolessar, 14, and William Lapinski, 12, had entered the shaft while Mark Baker, 13, had crawled with them into the fenced off area where the mine is located, but did not venture into the shaft. The boys were rescued, uninjured by members of the Long Hill Fire department who lowered a ladder into a shaft. The three boys were part of a group of scouts working on a conservation project in Old Mine Park and the three wandered away and crawled under the fence surrounding the mine area. The two who were trapped the shaft had dropped from a shelf in the excavation and could not find a toehold to climb out. The plight of the trio was discovered by an unidentified member of the troop who had been detailed to find them. They were returned to the police station and their parents notified to pick them up. Source document
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| FEB 1964 |
Abandoned Coal Mine Roof Fall Fatality, Cabin Creek, West Virginia — Michael Allen Carpenter, 21, was crushed to death when he crawled into an abandoned coal mine to hack out some coal for his widowed mother. The roof of the mine caved in on him. The accident occurred at a mine on Cabin Creek, near Charleston. News Article
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| DEC 1963 |
Abandoned Peerless Mine Fall of Person, Silver City, New Mexico — A young Austin, Texas girl plunged down an abandoned mine shaft in southwestern New Mexico and suffered serious injuries. Rescuers had to lower a litter basket on a fire hose to pull Lucy Marian Watson, 10, from the 75-foot-deep shaft. The girl was taken to the Silver City Hospital with a broken leg, a broken arm and internal injuries, and in deep shock. State Patrolman Gene Tow said the Watson family was driving through the area on a Christmas vacation trip. They became attracted by the tailings dump and remains of the old Peerless mine shaft beside the road at Central in the Grant County copper mining district. Lucy, described as a rockhound, went to search the ruins for mineral specimens and plunged down the open shaft. Source document
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| NOV 1963 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiations, Pottsville, Pennsylvania — Carbon monoxide gas killed twin brothers in an abandoned mine on Sharp Mountain, about 10 miles from this Schuylkill County Community. The bodies of Ralph Studlack, and his brother George, were found. Both were 28. The brothers were trying to pump out the abandoned mine before attempting to dig out coal. Gordon Smith, deputy secretary of mines, said they were using a gasoline motor that created gas fumes in the pumping operation. News Article
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| SEP 1963 |
Abandoned Spring Hill Mine Entrapment, Grizzly Gulch, Montana — Two Helena teenagers were rescued when they became trapped in an abandoned 100-foot-deep glory hole left from a surface mining operation in a gulch above Helena. They were stranded about 2 hours. Dean White, 16, and Bob Safford, 14, had climbed to the bottom of the pit and got about half-way up and could climb no further. Safford said another youth, Bob Olson, had gone down into the hole with them but was still at the bottom and was able to climb out a different way to get help. Two other youths arrived before the rescue party and pulled White out with a rope. The rescuers described the so-called glory hole, at least 50 feet in diameter, as studded with hanging rocks and ledges all the way down. It was located at the old Spring Hill Mine, about six miles south of Helena in Grizzly Gulch. Safford was the son of State Veterinarian Dr. John Safford. The youth said he and his companions had been out exploring. Source document
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| AUG 1963 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Webb City, Missouri — Mrs. Margaret Hayes, 29, fell 90 feet down an abandoned mine shaft and landed in deep water, then clung to the timbered sides of the shaft more than an hour until rescued. Suffering only from bruises, hospital attendants said she was in good condition. Source document
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| Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Pittsburg, California — Ronald Buffo, 15, was pulled safely out of a 65-foot mine shaft Wednesday after spending over an hour on his backing looking up at "that little hole in the sky." He suffered minor injuries. Two friends lowered him into the shaft with a rope. It broke when he was halfway down, dropping him to soft ground at the shaft bottom. Two Pacific Gas and Electric Co. linemen climbed down and rescued him several hours later. "It was pretty gruesome," Buffo confided while recovering at his Pittsburg home. "I was knocked out, I guess, and then I woke up, I was lying on my back, and I looked up and all I could see was that little hole in the sky." Source document
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| JUL 1963 |
On July 12, 1963, in a miracle survival that confounded experts, three teenage boys were found alive after spending 2 days in an abandoned, gas-ridden mine. The youngsters
were found nearly a half-mile from the mouth of No. 2 shaft of Castle Shannon Coal Company which had not been used for more than 25 years. Their rescuers
were U. S. Bureau of Mines Inspectors Everett Turner, James Hutchens and Jennings Breedon. The boys, Danny O'Kain, Billy
Burke and Bobby Abbott were taken to St. Clair Hospital where they were treated for exposure and dehydration. See Vintage Video. Source document
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| APR 1963 |
Old Sparks Well Entrapment, Rupert, Idaho — Two amateur gold prospectors were rescued from a 600-foot deep dry well 12 hours after they became trapped. Floyd Gambrell and Darnell Hamilton were imprisoned when a bucket being lowered to lift them to the surface broke loose, dropped halfway down the shaft and became wedged in the narrow hole. With their communications severed and their exit block, their companions on the surface summoned help to free the men. This shaft, known as the "Old Sparks Well" claimed the life of another prospector 25 years earlier when a bucket of tools fell on him in a similar incident. Source document
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| FEB 1963 |
Abandoned Coal Mine Rescue, New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania — Harry Noerr of Middle Run was rescued by New Bethlehem firemen after being trapped for four hours in a cave-in at an abandoned strip mine. Mr. Noerr, 39, had entered a hole in the highwall at the mine to dig out coal. He had traveled approximately 20 feet when the cave-in occurred. When the walls caved in, Mr. Noerr fell another 15 feet and was trapped in the hole. Accompanying Mr. Noerr were two unidentified youths, who attempted to rescue him with a rope. When the rope broke, the youths went to the home of a neighbor, who contacted the New Bethlehem Fire Department. Thirty-four men and two trucks responded to the call. Two firemen were lowered into the cave with a light and a rope. They fastened a rope around Mr. Noerr and firemen pulled him up. After the rescue, Mr. Noerr was able to walk around. Firemen said he seemed to be in a state of shock but refused medical treatment. Source document
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| JAN 1963 |
Abandoned Mine Animal Rescue, Sonora, California — A 12-year-old gray mare, trapped in an abandoned mine for two weeks was rescued, shaken but apparently unharmed. Lottie Pedro said the mare, Rena, vanished January 15. Ranch hands searched every day. She was found Tuesday, the 29th, in the 20-foot mine shaft. Wednesday, in a drenching rain storm, the mare was given a tranquilizer shot and hauled out with block and tackle. The thin old horse lay down for a few minutes, then got up and trotted to the barn. Source document
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| Abandoned Half Mountain Coal Co. Roof Fall, Carver, Kentucky — Lewis Mullins, who was trespassing and obtaining coal from an abandoned drift opening, was killed instantly by a fall of roof on January 28, 1963. The rock that fell was 5 feet wide, 12 feet long and 34 inches thick. The mine was about 2 miles south of Carver. Accident Report
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| NOV 1962 |
After falling 200 feet down the abandoned Idaho Bride gold mine near Idaho Springs, Colorado and spending 14 hours in the mirky depths, Airman Chester West was rescued. It took rescuers, led by District Mine Inspector, Norman Blake, three hours to lead West out of the winding tunnels. Source document
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| AUG 1962 |
Abandoned Gold Mine Fall of Person, Hill City, South Dakota — Airman Gerald Becker spent 3 days trapped in an abandoned gold mine pit near here. Becker, 18, of Mapleton, Minn., had the night off from his duties as a mechanic at nearby Ellsworth Air Force Base and decided to go swimming in Sheridan Lake. "But it was too cold, and I started exploring instead," said Becker at the base hospital, where he was under observation. "I came across this big hole. Suddenly the edge gave way and I fell 50 feet to the bottom." After recovering from the initial shock, Becker looked for a hold on the shale and slate walls to enable him to climb out but found none. Then he started shouting for help. Early Monday the vacationing Pete Ptacek family from Phoenix, Ariz., stopped in the area to let their children exercise. Becker, with his very hoarse throat, heard them and called out. Ptacek hurried to a cabin resort near the lake for help. Two forestry men, a rancher and Ptacek returned to the pit with a rope, and with it tied around his waist Becker made his way up the sheer wall. Source document
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| JUL 1962 |
Abandoned Quicksilver Mine Rescue, San Jose, California — After hours of walking around lost in the abandoned quicksilver mine, five children were located by rescuers including Sheriff's deputies and a 17-year-old neighbor. The lost teens included Eileen Patrino, 17; Robin Patrino, 9; Wayne Patrino, 4; Jim Butters, 17; and Mike Atchison, 17. The children became lost when their light failed. Source document
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| JUN 1962 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person Fatality, Bowmans, Pennsylvania — A 43-year-old unemployed Bowmans man was killed in an abandoned independent mine located approximately 125 yards from his home. The body of George Sapiega was discovered at the bottom of an old mine breast about 164 feet from the ground surface. It was presumed he slipped or fell down the mine slope while mining coal for home consumption. The victim's body was wedged against a rib of coal some 110 feet from the surface. Rescue workers succeeded in hooking the body with a grappling hook and had brought it up some 30 feet before it became wedged. Sapiega's wife reported her husband missing after he failed to come home for supper. He went to the mine to fire a few holes in order to get coal for home use. News Article
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| JAN 1962 |
Abandoned Clay Mine Roof Fall Fatalities, Clearfield, Pennsylvania — After two weeks of nearly continuous searching, two boys were found dead in an abandoned clay mine. The bodies of Larry Husted, 10, and Wesley Lowe, 13, were recovered under a rock fall in the old mine workings at nearby Morgan Run. Several hundred workers tried to find the youths after they entered the mine on January 14. Marshall Dixon, a dragline operator, spotted a leg of one of the boys. Searchers went down into a hole ripped open by the dragline and dug out the badly-mangled bodies by hand. News Article
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| DEC 1961 |
Abandoned Mine Animal Rescue, Gilbert, West Virginia — Brownie, a 3-year-old rabbit hound was rescued after a 50-day entrapment in a caved-in mine shaft. A bulldozer late Monday uncovered a hole leading into the shaft into which the dog disappeared almost two months earlier. For 18 days after Brownie disappeared while on a hunting trip with his owner, he was thought dead. But whatever the dog chased into that narrow slit, probably a rabbit, seemed to have provided him with enough food to keep him going for a while. Brownie's whimpering and barking was heard by one of his owner's numerous cousins. The dog's owner had visited the break every day since the dog had been located, dropping food down the slit to his pet. Water was plentiful inside the shaft. Source document
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| OCT 1961 |
Abandoned Mine Cave-in Fatalities, Jasper, Alabama — Two men lost their lives and a third narrowly escaped injury when a rockslide crashed down a hillside at an abandoned mine near here. Walker County officers identified the fatalities as Robert Homan, 47, a disabled miner, and Odell Winters, 39. Homan was killed in the rockslide, and Winters was trapped about two hours, rescued, and taken to a hospital where he died several hours later. The two, with Winters' brother, Floyd, went to an old coal mine about 11 miles southeast of here to dig out a truck load of coal. Witnesses said about 30 tons of rock dislodged and fell in three places in the mine, trapping the two about 40 feet below the top of the pit. News Article
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| JUL 1961 |
Abandoned Metal and Nonmetal Mine Asphyxiation, Duluth, Minnesota — A foreman, age 43, with several years mining experience, died from asphyxiation, at about 10 a.m. July 3, 1961, when he entered an abandoned mine to inspect equipment. Accident Report
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| JAN 1961 |
Rescuers saved 15-year-old, Larry Dacek, after falling down an airshaft of the abandoned Sutro Tunnel silver mine near Virginia City, Nevada. He was trapped for 11 hours there. Mining experts said Dacek escaped certain death by coming to rest on a rock layer supported by a few rotten timbers. Below him was a straight 1,400 foot fall. Source document
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| Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Yermo, California — The dry lake area just south of Mule Canyon was the scene of a dramatic rescue. Little eight-year-old Gene Armand Stevens was rescued after falling 50 feet into an abandoned uncovered mine shaft. Units from the Barstow Sheriff's Substation, Fire Department, along with the Civil Defense rescue Unit were dispatched to the scene. Eight-year-old Gene Stevens was found lying at the bottom of a 50-foot mine shaft still conscious and able to move in spite of what proved to be a broken leg. John Patton of the Barstow Fire Department Rescue Squad was lowered into the shaft, where he managed to tie the boy into a wire basket type stretcher which was raised to the surface by fellow workers. An ambulance immediately rushed the hoy to the Barstow Community Hospital where he was given emergency treatment. The report from the hospital indicated that the boy's condition was generally good. He suffered a fracture of the left leg as well as cuts and bruises about his face and body. Source document
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| JUN 1960 |
Unnamed Tourmaline Mine Cave-in, Unspecified City, California — A gem miner trapped for 10 hours in a cave-in Friday was behind bars Saturday in the county jail. He was Calvin Trevor Mellish, 42, of nearby Escondido. He was pinned by his right arm 130 feet underground in a tourmaline mine 63 miles north of here when a 500-pound boulder rolled down on him. Mellish, serving a year's sentence for arson in the burning of his home, was freed last month on $2,625 bail to enter the mine. He told the court at that time he wanted to recover a cache of gem stones and $8,300 in cash. Rescue workers had to shore up a narrow mine shaft and jack up the boulder to free Mellish. He was treated and released at a hospital. The bail bondsman said he had surrendered Mellish to the county jail. "He was supposed to get that money," the bondsman said, "but now it's too dangerous in there, and a slide has covered his cache." Source document
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| MAY 1960 |
Abandoned Iron Mine Fall of Person, Peekskill, New York — A state trooper trudged a thousand feet through an abandoned mine tunnel to reach an injured youth trapped in a 200-foot-deep shaft, then piggy backed the victim to safety. The youth, Gerald Kulich, 18, of nearby Peekskill, fell into the shaft while exploring the old iron mine with four other teenagers. Kulich already was half-buried in falling debris as his companions ran to a nearby home, where police were called. Source document
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| 1950s |
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| APR 1959 |
Abandoned Mine Cave-in, Ironton, Ohio — Bob Russell, 17, was lucky to be alive after his rescue from a mine shaft cave-in. Authorities said the boy and a companion, Jerry Thacker, 10, were exploring a deep mine shaft when a rock fall occurred, trapping the two. Thacker freed himself, but Russell was buried up to his neck. The younger boy ran for help and four men, two of them from a nearby coal company, rushed to the rescue. Source document
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| OCT 1958 |
Abandoned Strip Mine Lost Person, Carterville, Illinois — A 12-year old Carterville boy was found unharmed in an abandoned strip mine area about a mile from his home. Kenneth Horn, 12, had been reported missing by his parents the night before when he failed to return home. News Article
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| Abandoned Coal Mine Asphyxiations, Centralia, Illinois — The bodies of a man and woman were found Friday in the ruins of an abandoned coal mine shaft here. It appeared that Charles Jenkins, 36, and Mrs. Virginia Goosetree, 45, had been killed by the "black damp" gas seeping from the shaft. The bodies of Mr. Jenkins, a Farina. Ill., farmer, and Mrs. Goosetree, a widowed Salem, III., barmaid, were in a four foot pocket above the sealed entrance of the mine. Residents of the area said "black damp," or methane gas, curled from fissures at the top of the mine. News Article
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| JAN 1958 |
Abandoned Mine Shaft Rescue, Crafton Hills, California — Scared and dirty but unhurt, two Yucaipa youths were pulled to safety from an abandoned mine shaft in the Crafton hills area above Oak Glen road by sheriff's deputies and volunteers. The boys, Larry Anderson, 12, and Lee Schumann, 13, waited at the bottom of the shaft for nearly four hours while their companion ran back to Yucaipa for help. The boys had climbed to the area Saturday, discovered the mine shafts and decided to return to the site Sunday with a rope and go down into this particular mine. The Anderson boy made the descent safely on the spindly rope. But when the Schumann youth attempted to go down, the rope broke and he tumbled to the bottom. Neither boy was hurt but they were unable to climb back out. The boys became stranded about 4:30 p.m. and the rescue party set out for the site about 5:45. When the party arrived at the mine, ropes were lowered and Anderson and Schumann were pulled to safety, dirty but otherwise unhurt at about 8:30 p.m. Source document
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| NOV 1957 |
Unnamed Coal Mine Entrapment, Stockdale, Pennsylvania — Robert P. Thompson, 14, schoolboy, died after rescuing John T. Vingless, 13, schoolboy, from a cave-in, Coupon, Pennsylvania, November 2, 1957. While John and Robert were digging for coal in a small pit four and a half feet deep at an abandoned strip mine, one side of the pit collapsed and clay, slate, and coal in a high ridge above it slid onto them. Both boys, who were kneeling in the pit with their heads two feet below the top, were covered chest-deep. John's hands were pinned, and a lump of slate 18 inches square and four inches thick rested on his head, pressing his face into the clay so that he barely was able to breathe. Although he had sustained serious injuries to his back, chest, and legs, Robert freed his hands and dug himself out. Unable to stand, he began crawling toward a nearby road to summon help, but at John's pleas he dragged himself back to the pit. Although in considerable pain, he moved the lump of slate from John's head. John then dug himself out with some assistance from Robert, who removed several small pieces of slate. John walked and Robert crawled 200 feet to the road, calling for help. John's mother was attracted, and the boys then were removed to a hospital. John sustained a wrenched back and hip injuries but recovered. Robert's injuries were extensive, including damage to his spinal cord, which caused his death later in the day. Robert P. Thompson was posthumously bestowed the Carnegie Hero Award for his bravery. Source document
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| NOV 1957 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Persons, Pueblo, Colorado — Two teenage boys spent seven hours at the bottom of an abandoned mine shaft Friday after their Jeep plunged 60 feet into the opening. James McCarty, 14, and his cousin, Robert Roblek, 15, suffered severe cuts. The boys were dumping trash. The youngsters said they rounded a hill near the dump and spotted the hole. McCarty, who was driving, attempted to apply the brakes, but the Jeep skidded downhill into the shaft. David Riggs, a game warden, and William McCarty, James' father, lifted out both the boys and the wrecked Jeep with a winch. Source document
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| JUN 1957 |
Abandoned Spring Hill Mine Rescue, Helena, Montana — Three teenage boys trapped in the abandoned Spring Hill mine shaft near Helena, Montana for more than 4 hours were rescued. The trio, Louis and George Taylor and John McIntosh, all about 15 years of age, suffered only superficial cuts and bruises on their hands and arms from the sharp rocks while being pulled out of the shaft. Source document
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| MAY 1957 |
Lost Persons Cave Rescue, Easton, Pennsylvania — Three boys and a science writer were rescued from a cave after having been lost underground for twenty-one hours. Two state troopers and a resident of the area trailed a length of rope from the cave entrance to the four. Then they followed the rope back to the surface. The four spent a wet and shivering night in a forty-foot-square chamber 100 feet from the entrance and about twenty feet below the surface. They were in good physical condition after the rescue, although they were wearing light clothing and had had only candy bars to eat. When Mr. Pfeiffer failed to return home, Mrs. Pfeiffer notified the state police. Troopers searched several commercial and noncommercial caves. The lost foursome included John E. Pfeiffer, 42; his son, Tony, 12; Charles Ingham, 11; and Norman Ganter, 11. Mr. Pfeiffer said they had become lost in many twisting passages. They decided to sit down and await rescue. Source document
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| MAR 1957 |
50-year-old Cantrell Owens was rescued from an abandoned Kentucky coal mine near Harlan after spending more than 2 days lost in mine. Rescuers had to give up the search once because of the foul air they encountered.
Source document
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| SEP 1956 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiation Fatality, McAlester, Oklahoma — A prisoner at the state penitentiary was found dead today in an abandoned mine shaft in the center of the prison grounds, apparently where he had hidden a pet dog. He was John Drumgold Jr., 37, Kansas City, serving a 4-year sentence for larceny. He would have been eligible for release Dec. 8. The body was about 500 feet back in the shaft. A medical examiner said he died from carbon dioxide fumes. Officers said some trusties had kept dogs and other pets in the area, but the animals had been picked up recently and taken to
the McAlester pound. Drumgold apparently had hidden his dog in the shaft and was taking food to it. The shaft will be inspected thoroughly, then be sealed off as are two other mines in the area. News Article
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| AUG 1956 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person Fatality, Ringwood, New Jersey — The body of a 21-year-old man missing since Thursday was found at the bottom of a 200-foot-deep abandoned mine shaft. The dead man was August Van Dunk, who was partially blind and weighed 250 pounds. Police said he had been living on Millertown Road with his grandfather, Samuel Van Dunk but no report had been made of his disappearance. Three teenagers found his body and it took police and others 34 hours to haul it to the surface on a stretcher. The medical examiner said an autopsy showed the man died of a fractured skull and ruptured spleen. Acting County Prosecutor Charles S. Joelson said there were no signs of foul play, but he is not ruling the death accidental pending further investigation. The shaft is the rear entrance to a mine owned by the General Services Administration, a federal agency, and unused since 1953. News Article
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| MAY 1956 |
Allegheny Coal and Coke Mine Lost Persons, Tarentum, Pennsylvania — Two teenaged boys, Joseph Pitkavich, 16, and Paul Crawford, 15, who wandered for nearly 24 hours in a vast coal mine were rescued after they entered the Allegheny Coal and Coke Co. mine and became separated from four other hookey-playing companions from Har-Brack High School. The search for the two boys began after they failed to return to the mine entrance where their four companions waited. Parents and neighbors kept an all-night vigil while rescuers made a foot-by-foot search of 10 miles of winding tunnels. Joseph and Paul were found by Lloyd Nicewonger and Dominic Bonino sitting about 2,000 feet from the mine entrance. They said they did not realize they were lost until they had wandered through the mine for nearly two hours. "When we kept coming back to the same place, we knew we were lost," Joseph said. Joseph said his experience taught him "never to go in a mine again or play hookey." Paul admitted he had enough adventure for a while. "I'm never going in a mine again," he said. Source document
Almost four months later, on August 29, 1956, Joseph Pitkavich was killed in an auto accident in which he was a passenger. Source document
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| OCT 1955 |
Abandoned Clay Mine Rescue, East Liverpool, Ohio — Three young men were rescued after being lost in an abandoned clay mine for 15 hours. A searching party of about 50 persons was formed after the trio failed to return home. They were found unharmed 5 hours after the search began. Those rescued included: Ed Unger, 16; Lemoyne Simms, 19; and James Simms, 23. Source document
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| SEP 1955 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiation Fatalities, Georgetown, Colorado — A rescue squad found the bodies of two missing Kansas uranium prospectors in an abandoned mine shaft. The 11-man squad, wearing special breathing apparatus, discovered the bodies of Glenn Dew, 33, and Melvin LeBlow, 45, both of Ulysses, Kansas, after a search lasting more than 3 days. Sheriff James Sacra said the bodies were nearly 6,000 feet from the mine entrance. The two disappeared in the ancient shaft Thursday afternoon. Two companions waiting at the entrance for their return sounded the alarm after they failed to reappear. The bodies were left inside the tunnel until a coroner arrived at the floodlit scene. News Article
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| MAY 1955 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Cloverdale, California — Floyd Whittaker was recovering at his home in traction after he was seriously injured when he fell down a shaft at a mine on the Geyser Road. He suffered a fractured cervical spine, multiple fractures of the right thumb and contusions and abrasions of the body. He was brought to a local facility and given treatment and then taken to his home and his back put in traction. Source document
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| APR 1955 |
Fall of Person Rescue, Aurora, Colorado — Two-year-old David Mark Counterman was raised to safety after spending nearly four hours at the bottom of an eighteen-foot well shaft. The shaft was eighteen inches in diameter. Workers drilled a parallel shaft, then angled under the child. Three rescuers made their way to the bottom of the rescue shaft and dug through to the boy. They pulled him headfirst into the new shaft and then to the surface as his mother and nearly 1,000 neighbors and other onlookers cheered. David tumbled into the shaft when his father, Charles, 24, turned away to rest from working a hand-operated auger he was using to dig a water well in the rear yard of his home. Source document
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| DEC 1954 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiation Fatalities, Welch, West Virginia — Three men died Monday or Sunday night, evidently from asphyxiation, in an abandoned coal mine which contained a still for making Illicit moonshine whisky. They were McKinley Marcum, 26, and his brother Warren, 23, both of Roderfield, and their cousin William Duncan, 28, of Washington, D.C., who was visiting here. A mine rescue team found the bodies lying in shallow water Monday afternoon inside the old Fall River Mine, which was abandoned about 35 years ago. News Article
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| NOV 1954 |
Abandoned Anthracite Coal Mine Fall of Person, Shaft, Pennsylvania — Alden A. Hartz, Jr., 27, construction worker, rescued Catherine M. Murphy, 72, from a cave-in, Shaft, Pennsylvania, November 23, 1954. Mrs. Murphy was crossing a field near her home when a cave-in occurred above an abandoned coal mine underlying that area. Ground gave way beneath her; and she fell into a hole 70 feet deep caused by the cave-in, landing on a mound of fallen earth which rose 20 feet above the bottom of the hole. She sustained severe injuries and partially was buried by earth. The hole was four feet wide at the surface and thence downward to the bottom widened irregularly to 40 feet, the sides having numerous overhanging protuberances. Attracted by the screams of Mrs. Murphy, Hartz and others gathered at the hole. A 20-foot ladder was placed on the ground across the hole. Although he could observe that the sides of the hole were unstable, Hartz, who observed others already there were reluctant to enter the hole, volunteered at once to descend to Mrs. Murphy and tied the end of 150-foot rope to himself. He was lowered into the opening carrying a hand lamp. Three men played out the rope, and another man lay prone on the ladder to guide the rope as Hartz was lowered 50 feet to the mound. Descending 12 feet on the mound, he found Mrs. Murphy and freed her from the fallen earth. She became unconscious. He had difficulty obtaining footing on the muddy slope and called to the men above to pull slowly on the rope. Hartz drew Mrs. Murphy to the top of the mound. He saw small stones and dirt falling from the sides of the hole and realized another cave-in might be imminent but removed the rope from himself and fastened it securely to Mrs. Murphy, deciding because of her injuries to have her taken up separately while he waited on the mound. At Hartz's call the men lifted Mrs. Murphy to the surface. The rope was returned to Hartz, and he was drawn rapidly from the hole after being in it seven minutes. Mrs. Murphy was rushed to a hospital but died of her injuries two days later. Hartz was nervous but recovered. Mr. Hartz was bestowed the Carnegie Hero Award for his bravery. Source document
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| OCT 1954 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Eatonville, Washington — Second Lt. James Clinkingbeard, of Fort Lewis, was rescued from an abandoned mine shaft 18 hours after he had fallen into a 40-foot pit. Clinkingbeard was pulled from the shaft by a search party organized after his hunting companion, Lt. Joseph Jacob, also of Fort Lewis, reported that Clinkingbeard had failed to return to their car at nightfall the day before. Sheriff's officers said the officer tumbled 40 feet down the shaft and landed on water and rocks at its bottom. He fractured a wrist in the fall. Source document
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| AUG 1954 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Diamondtown, Pennsylvania — A seven-year-old Mt. Carmel boy was rescued after an undisclosed period from an abandoned coal hole into which he fell while flying a kite on the hillside north of Diamondtown. William Boychuk was taken to Shamokin Hospital where he was treated for multiple abrasions of the back, arms, right ear and legs. The youngster, one of several flying kites on the mine-scarred hillside, was believed to have been running backwards with his tow string when he failed to notice the abandoned shaft and dropped into it. His playmates didn't notice his absence immediately but discovered him when they saw his kite string leading into the old mine opening. The alarm was spread, and rescue workers used a clothesline to haul the lad to the surface. A loop was fashioned in the rope and lowered to the boy who was instructed to fasten the loop beneath his arms. Rescue workers said it appeared the boy landed on sandy soil that had created a shelf 50 feet from the
top. Had he missed the shelf he would have plunged to an unknown depth. Source document
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| APR 1954 |
Abandoned Anthracite Mine Fall of Person, Shamokin, Pennsylvania — An 8-year-old boy was rescued from an abandoned coal hole at Shamokin through the combined efforts of a police officer and volunteers. Little Denny May fell 75 feet into the hole and had to spend an hour there before he was brought to the surface. Denny was playing in the vicinity of his home with some other children when he fell into the mine located on North Mountain, just north of Shamokin. Source document
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| Dec 1953 |
Abandoned Mine Cave-in Fatality, Unity, Pennsylvania — One boy was dead and another injured as a result of a cave-in in an abandoned mine at Unity in Penn Township. Joseph Haas, Jr., 13, died of hemorrhages and shock when he was buried beneath dirt and shale near the mine entrance. Joseph Molchan, 12, was rescued from the slide by his brother, Francis, 17, and was in Columbia Hospital, Wilkinsburg. The extent of his injuries were to be determined. News Article 1, News Article 2
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| MAY 1953 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Goodsprings, Nevada — This story comes from Boulder City and relates to a father who rescued his son from a deep mine shaft near Goodsprings in Clark County. On a Sunday, about two weeks earlier, the family — Jake Dielemans and his wife and their two sons, Dick, age 13, Bobby, age five — went out with a group of local people interested in prospecting. They were perusing the area around Goodsprings. Jake and the other men were out checking rocks and formations when suddenly Jake looked around back toward where he had parked his car and saw the legs of his son Bobby shooting downward. At the same time, he heard a deafening scream from the lad. All hands went running and found that Bobby had fallen down a deep, dark, and treacherous looking mine shaft. They could see nothing and were frantic. They judged the hole at least 70 feet deep. They thought they detected a faint cry from the bottom of the pit. Then everyone went to work. One man raced to his vehicle, pulled out a couple of ropes and tied them together. Someone had to be dropped to the bottom of the pit. Jake insisted on doing it. But the rope was not strong enough to hold the hefty 200-pound man. It was Dick, the older brother, who cried to be allowed to go down after his brother. The little fellow — who last year was an All-American Pony Bowl footballer — again showed he was an All-American boy. The men tied the rope around him, gave him another loop for his brother, and lowered him into the pit. Jake, the father, meantime had scrambled down the hole about 15 feet and hung onto a ledge and guided the rope. Little Dick reached bottom, tied the halter onto his brother, and the men above hauled the two lads up. The rest is now a big sigh of relief. The lad was rushed to the Boulder Hospital. No bones were broken, thanks to a bed of blow sand at the bottom of the pit, and the lad was just a bit shaken. Source document
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| Abandoned Lime Mine Fall of Person, Rosendale, New York — Jack Rustemeyer, 13, was rescued after an undisclosed period by Binnewater firemen after he plunged 50 feet to a ledge in an old lime mine in the Maple Hill section of Rosendale. He was taken to Kingston City hospital and attended for shock and multiple bruises and abrasions and later taken to his home. The boy and three companions were walking near the edge of the mine when the ground gave way. Three boys managed to run to safety. The Rustemeyer boy dropped into the mine. He landed on a ledge 50 feet below the surface. The other boys ran to the Rustemeyer home and told Mrs. Rustemeyer her son had fallen into the mine. She summoned Binnewater firemen, who lowered a rope to the injured boy. He tied the rope around his waist and firemen pulled him to safety. Source document
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| JAN 1953 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Lordsburg, Nevada — A 15-year-old high school boy was recovering from several broken bones and assorted bruises after miraculously surviving a fall down a 330-foot mine shaft. Ray Harrington received a broken collarbone, broken arm and broken leg when he tumbled down the abandoned Nevada mine shaft. Rescuers attributed his survival to the fact that the shaft had a jog in it about midway down. This, they say, may have broken his fall. Source document
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| MAY 1952 |
Abandoned Shale Mine Fall of Person, Royal Gorge, Colorado — Donna Zarnowski, 17, of Burns, Kansas, tumbled 100 feet and became trapped in a mine shaft by a quarter-ton boulder during a senior class visit to scenic attractions which included the abandoned shale mine shaft near Royal Gorge. A boulder at the mine entrance on which Donna was leaning gave way and she tumbled down the 60-degree entrance shaft after it. She came to rest 100 feet down the shaft and the boulder rolled back and pinned her against a slate pillar. A doctor was lowered into the pit to give her a hypodermic while a wrecking truck and firemen were enroute. A Catholic priest was also let down by rope at her request. Two hours later the boulder was moved by a winch and cable. Firemen strapped the girl to a stretcher, and she was hauled to the mine entrance. She was transported to Canon City hospital where she was reported in serious condition from injuries suffered. Source document
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| JAN 1952 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Springfield, Missouri — Don M. Searle, 18, suffered serious injuries when he fell into an abandoned mine shaft on Pierson Creek, five miles east of Springfield, Missouri. Searle was searching for traces of uranium in the old mine with three companions. He was being lowered into the shaft with a windlass and rope when the rope broke, dropping him about 50 feet. Ropes were used to bring him to the surface about 30 minutes after he tumbled into the shaft. He suffered a leg fracture, back injury and cuts. Source document
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| DEC 1950 |
Higgenbottom Cavern Rescue, McMinnville, Tennessee — National Guardsmen, passing along a stretcher on their hands and knees, rescued 17-year-old Don Ball, Nashville high school football star, after a tortuous five-mile underground trip from the fifty-foot pit into which he toppled. Ball was reported in critical condition with head and leg injuries and the possibility of a pneumonia complication due to his seventeen hour entrapment in Higgenbottom Cavern. William Greer, a 125-pound volunteer, was lowered into the chasm deep inside the cave to tie a rope around Ball so the Guardsmen could haul his limp body to the cavern floor. Source document
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| JUL 1950 |
Abandoned Anthracite Strip Mine Entrapment, Glen Carbon, Pennsylvania — A 13-year-old Philadelphia boy was rescued from the bottom of a 60-foot abandoned stripping pit at Glen Carbon, near Minersville, after being trapped for more than two hours. John Murphy, who was visiting relatives in the Schuylkill County area, was playing baseball with a group of companions. The ball rolled into the pit and Murphy entered the hole to retrieve the ball. At the bottom, he sank waist-deep into heavy mud, but kept from slipping beneath the surface of the mud by clinging to a rock ledge. Rescue workers erected a platform over the muddy section and then released the uninjured boy. Source document
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| FEB 1950 |
Abandoned Mine Cave-in Fatality, Stanley, North Carolina — A 100-year-old abandoned iron mine caved in near here killing one boy and hurting three. They were among 25 Stanley High School students on an educational tour. A road crew working nearby rushed to the scene and dug frantically for 30 minutes before rescuing the four boys who had entered an underground shaft. Boyd Ledford, 12, died in a hospital. Witnesses said they believed the weight of other members of the party walking over the area caused the cave-in. News Article
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| 1940s |
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| OCT 1949 |
Abandoned Well Rescue, Austin, Texas — A 3-year-old boy fell 14 feet down a narrow shaft of an abandoned well and was rescued alive three hours later. Bobby Gow, son of Mr. and Mrs. James Gow of Austin, toppled into the 10-inch shaft while playing. A 12-year-old playmate saw him fall and spread the alarm. His rescue came after three steam shovels, compressed air hammers and volunteer pick and shovel workers tore away the earth from the 20-foot hole. Except for the happier ending. The incident was reminiscent of the tragedy of Kathy Fiscus, age 3, who died last April after a 98-foot fall down an abandoned well pipe at San Marino, California. Source document
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| JUN 1947 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiation Fatalities, Glendale, Arizona — A vacation day jaunt into the desert in search of adventure and to explore abandoned mines ended in death for three Glendale, Arizona youths. The bodies of the victims were recovered from an abandoned mine shaft in a hillside by sheriff's deputies. The dead were Gordon Read, 18, Bob Holly, 17, and Bruce MacDonald, 18. The youths were victims of their lack of knowledge that it was dangerous to build a fire in the dead end of the shaft where there was no ventilation. Smoke and carbon monoxide gas created by exhaustion of oxygen killed them. One apparently tried to crawl out before he died. News Article
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| OCT 1946 |
Abandoned Pennsylvania Coal Co. Mine Rescue, Pittston, Pennsylvania — A Pittston coal miner was rescued from an abandoned mine shaft after being entombed for several hours. Benjamin Desko, 58, was locked in the shaft when the exit was filled in by a bulldozer operator, who was unaware that he was in the shaft. Desko was reported missing by his wife when he failed to return home. She went to the shaft where her husband said he would be working and discovered the entrance blocked. The alarm was sounded and workers of the Pennsylvania Coal Company made the rescue. When examined at the Pittston Hospital, Desko was found to be none the worst for his experience. Source document
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| SEP 1946 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiation Fatality, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania — The body of Charles Waselus, 58, was discovered in a coal hole at an abandoned stripping before in Plains Township. Trooper John Harkovich said Waselus was apparently caught under a fall of earth while engaged in picking coal and suffocated. His body was discovered by his son-in-law, Michael Loncoski. Loncoski and several companions surmised the man had been trapped in the fall and they discovered the body after digging a few feet into the earth. News Article
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| FEB 1946 |
Abandoned Anthracite Mine Lost Persons, East Scranton, Pennsylvania — After spending a night, lost in an underground gangway in an abandoned Anthracite mine, three Scranton youths were rescued. Rescued were: Joseph Buydos, 16; George E. Lowe, 17; and Edward Liptock, 16. The boys entered the workings of the abandoned East Scranton mine shortly after school closed Monday. Exploring the passages, they became lost in the many tunnels and decided to wait until rescue came. When found the next day, after an undisclosed period, despite their long imprisonment in the damp and cold tunnels, the boys were unaffected physically, but were tired and hungry. Source document
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| AUG 1945 |
Abandoned Mine Landslide, Beechwood, Maryland — The cows came home safe and sound — all four of them — after being trapped by a landslide for three days in an old coal mine without food or water. Shifts of men worked by lantern and carbon lamp hauling out wheelbarrow loads of rock and attempting to erect roof supports against recurrent rock fall. All were in good condition, their owners said. The last cow to be rescued, found about 150 feet from the entrance, was temporarily light-blinded, but was expected to be all right. Source document
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| MAY 1945 |
Mine Subsidence Rescue, Pittston, Pennsylvania — A 57-year-old mother of 11 children was rescued from a 25-foot pit, after a section of her yard subsided as she stepped from the rear porch of her home. The woman, Mrs. Clayton M. Ryce, was rescued after an undisclosed period by her husband and neighbors after suffering lacerations and contusions. The Ryce home is located over abandoned mine workings near the scene of a former mine-subsidence which claimed the life of a five-year-old boy. Source document
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| NOV 1944 |
Abandoned Mine Shaft Fall of Person, Shamokin, Pennsylvania — John Stebila, 16, was a patient in serious condition at Shamokin Hospital, the result of an accident which befell him as he was assisting in fighting a forest fire. The youth was a member of a fire-fighting group which was summoned to battle a blaze near the mining community. According to companions who took him to Shamokin Hospital, he fell a distance of more than 250 feet to the bottom of an abandoned mine shaft. Rescue workers worked for some time before they were able to bring the injured boy to the surface, and he was then taken to Shamokin Hospital. Doctors at the hospital said the accident victim sustained compound fractures of the hip, lacerations of the scalp, pelvic injuries, and a possible skull fracture. Source document
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| MAR 1944 |
Anthracite Mine Hole Fall of Ground, West Scranton, Pennsylvania — Edward Pall, age 7, from West Scranton, appeared little the worse at his home following his rescue from a mine cave hole which held him prisoner for nearly two hours. The boy was on his way to school and walking along a path through a field near his home when the earth gave way and swallowed him to his shoulders. Nearly two hours later, his father, Charles Pall, on his way to work heard the boy's cries and saw his head sticking out of the ground. After digging frantically, Pall rescued his son and carried him home. Examination of the youngster showed he was unhurt but suffering somewhat from shock. Police said the cave was four feet deep. Source document
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| Mine Subsidence Fall of Ground, Pittston, Pennsylvania — Seven-year-old Robert Adrian was swallowed up by the earth in a mine subsidence today, only 300 feet from the spot where Jule Ann Fulmer, age 2, was killed in a similar cave-in a month earlier. But Robert lived to tell about it. Walking home from a barber shop, Robert plunged 10 feet into the earth when the paving opened beneath him, but he was buried only to his waist. The terror-stricken youngster scrambled to safety before passersby reached him. Almost simultaneously, another cave-in occurred nearby, but no one was near the spot. Source document
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| SEP 1942 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiation Fatalities, Renton, Washington — A Renton, Washington father's three sons failed to return home. He found two of their bodies at the bottom of an abandoned test shaft of a coal mine near Renton. The boys, James Geary, 6, and his brother, Willard, 15, were the victims of "black damp," police said. The third son, Joe, and a friend named Lorenz, also may have perished. News Article
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| AUG 1942 |
Abandoned Clay Mine Lost Persons, East Liverpool, Ohio Two youths lost for 15 hours in an abandoned clay mine were found safe by a rescue squad. The youths, Robert Clutter, 17, and Donald Mahon, Jr., 18, became separated from companions after entering the multi-chambered mine, extending from five to six miles into hills overlooking the Ohio river. They were frightened but unhurt. Source document
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| Abandoned Mine Roof Fall Fatality, Dupont, Pennsylvania — One boy was killed, and several others narrowly escaped a similar fate while they were playing in an abandoned mine at Dupont, near Scranton. Frank Koza, 12-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Koza was walking some distance ahead of several other boys in the old workings when the roof caved in and crushed him. Koza's companions rushed out through the opening and gave the alarm. A rescue squad labored more than an hour before they recovered the crushed body. News Article
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| NOV 1941 |
Abandoned Mine Roof Fall Fatality, Camden, Kentucky — After returning from his work as machine operator in No. 4 mine, Jim Gallion, about 50, went into an old, abandoned mine on the creek bed near his home at Camden to get a little coal for the family's use. After putting off a shot, Gallion was said to have gone back into the mine to see the result of the blast, when the heavy fail came that blotted a valued employee of the Consolidation for more than twenty years. News Article
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| MAY 1941 |
Abandoned McKisick Mine Fall of Person, Jackson Hot Springs, Oregon — After being trapped at the bottom of an 85-foot shaft in an abandoned mine, 13-year-old Robert Porter was rescued after an undisclosed period and was none the worse for his experience. Young Porter along with Warren Davis, 13, discovered a mine shaft of the old McKisick Mine and decided to give it the once over. Robert was the first to start down the 65-foot ladder, with Warren following at a distance. Near the bottom, the ladder broke off and dropped Robert the remainder of the distance. With an unimpaired portion of ladder remaining, Davis climbed back out and ran for help. State Policeman Phil Stansbury, City Policeman Parker Hess, and Fire Chief Clint Baughman answered the call. They went to the scene and pulled young Porter from the shaft by means of a rope. The youth was unhurt except for some minor scratches and bruises, but after their experience the boys decided to return to their homes and forego their night in the wilds. Source document
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| DEC 1940 |
Abandoned Mine Roof Fall Fatality, Daughman, Kentucky — Herman Honeycutt, 17, was killed when caught beneath a slate fall today as he went into an abandoned mine near his home at Daughman for some coal. His widowed mother, searching for him. found the body beneath a ton of debris. News Article
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| OCT 1940 |
Fall of Ground Incident and Rescue, Scranton, Pennsylvania — Eleven-year-old Joseph Steindel rested comfortably at his home, seemingly none the worse from his brief entombment when the walls of an eighteen-foot crater near Cornell Park collapsed while he was digging coal. The little victim was jerked from the brink of eternity by four South Scranton men who extricated the victim with their bare hands. When Edward Nowrocki arrived after being attracted by the boy's screams, he saw only a blackened hand extending above the rock and debris. Nowrocki and the others joined in the rescue and digging with their hands, the skin of their fingers torn with each thrust, they piled rock, coal, and dirt to one side and in less than a minute little Joseph's head was unearthed. The youngster was unconscious but started to breathe freely by the time the rescuers had loosed his wedged body from the landslide. The lad was rushed to State Hospital in a police radio car, where he was found to have incurred only minor body bruises and shock. Source document
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| 1930s |
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DEC 1939 |
Leggett's Creek Colliery Fall of Person, North Scranton, Pennsylvania — Albert Owens, 17, was recovering from injuries and exposure after a fall down a deep shaft at the Leggett's Creek Colliery of the Penn Anthracite Company near his North Scranton home. He finally was rescued and brought to the surface after he had clung to bracing timbers that had broken his fall. If he had lost his hold, police said, he would have plunged 700 feet to certain death. Young Owens and his brother, Frank, 15, were playing near the mine entrance, when Albert dropped down the chasm. The brother ran to a house a half-mile away and State Motor Police were notified. Patrolman John Owens first attempted to rescue the youth but the rope was too short. A ladder then was placed across the shaft and with a longer rope Nicholas Williams descended and was pulled up with young Owens. Officials were informed there were no guard rails at the shaft. The victim was removed to Scranton State Hospital with a broken right leg, possible internal injuries. He suffered from exposure in the bitter cold in the mine shaft before his rescue. Source document
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| JUL 1939 |
Abandoned Mine Explosion Fatalities, Uniontown, Pennsylvania — An explosion of gas in the partly demolished fan house of an abandoned mine at nearby Tower Hill No. 1 killed four men. George Porter, manager of a community store, reported an acetylene torch which the men had been using to remove junk iron from the building apparently ignited the gas seeping up the mine shaft. Porter identified one of the victims as Albert Brashure. who had purchased the junked material in the mine. News Article
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| JUN 1939 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiation Fatalities, Murray City, Ohio — Two brothers were found dead of poisonous black damp in the abandoned Sunday Creek Mine No. 5. The victims were Kenneth Shuttleworth, 33 years old, mine watchman, and Huge Shuttleworth, 45 years old. Porter Shuttleworth, a third brother, found the bodies after he and Earl Mitchell had begun a search for the men unreported since the night before. News Article
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| MAR 1939 |
Abandoned Mine Rescue, Coalburg, Alabama — This rescue involves a most unlikely pair that became lost in an abandoned mine in Coalburg, Alabama. Cecil Morgan was apprehended and taken into custody when he was found operating a still a quarter of a mile underground. Deputy Sheriff Jim McAdory had captured Morgan and while attempting to make their way to the surface, the pair became lost. More than 100 officers and miners spread through the workings in search for the two men and found them resting on a mud bank after being confined for 18 hours in the mine, much of the time in total darkness. Source document
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| MAY 1938 |
Abandoned Lead & Zinc Mine Powered Haulage Fatalities, Commerce, Oklahoma — Efforts of eight unemployed miners to grub a living from an abandoned once-rich vein in the tri-state lead and zinc field cost two of them their lives yesterday. An old derrick collapsed and the car in which three were riding plummeted 200 feet. Fred Rosson, 40, and Bill Sholtz, 45, were killed. Two other miners were injured and four trapped by the wreckage, but rescuers dug them out after two and a half hours. News Article
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| NOV 1937 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Duelwel, Missouri — Joe Snyder, age 10, was rescued from an abandoned mine shaft, 90 feet deep, two hours after he had fallen into the shaft while fleeing to his home following a fist fight with two schoolmates. Examination at a hospital showed the boy suffered a broken back and skull fractures. His condition was described as critical. Source document
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| AUG 1937 |
Abandoned Coal Mine Rescue, Marion, Illinois — Jesse Wilson, 30, was rescued 2 days after becoming lost in an abandoned coal mine near Marion, Illinois. Wilson, a mine owner, had entered the pit with the announced intention of exploring the workings which were adjacent to abandoned workings of a deep shaft mine no longer operating. The search for Wilson began when he failed to come out at 5 p.m. with the other workers. Source document
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| JUN 1937 |
Abandoned Quarry Fall of Person, Lansdale, Pennsylvania — Nine-year-old, Salvatore Onorato, was rescued after he plunged with his bicycle over the side of an abandoned quarry. He was rescued after clinging for 30 minutes to a projecting rock. Ross Smith, also nine, who was with Onorato, rode two miles on his own bicycle for aid. Magistrate Howard F. Boorse and three other men lowered a rope to the stranded boy and pulled him from the pit. He was injured slightly. Source document
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| MAR 1937 |
Bootleg Anthracite Mine Cave-in, Shamokin, Pennsylvania — After more than 12 hours, six-foot, 330-pound Willie Politis was rescued from tons of earth and rock in a mountain coal hole. This was the second rescue needed for "Big Willie" within a few weeks. Source document
One news article found spells his name William Tavolitis and states he was trapped for 15 hours in the abandoned Burnside mine of the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company. Source document
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| FEB 1937 |
Robert Johnson spent eight days without food in utter darkness in an abandoned Flemington, West Virginia coal mine. Guided by his weak cries, Bill McDonald, Minor Cleavenger and Lon Smith found the man and brought him out on a stretcher. Source document
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Abandoned Fleck Coal Company Mine Cave-in, Carnegie, Pennsylvania — His face still marked by the grit that had pierced his flesh when he was buried under tons of coal and shale in the cave-in of an abandoned mine near Carnegie, Jacob Wright yesterday lay on his hospital cot and painfully told the story of the entombment that nearly cost him his life. Fearful for the health of his three-week-old son, Jacob, Jr., Wright set out yesterday morning to get coal to warm the ramshackle wind-swept dwelling on Hope Hollow Road in which he and his family make their home. Dragging a pick after him, Wright wormed his way into a small tunnel angling into the shaft of the abandoned Fleck Coal Company mine, from which poverty- stricken families in the little valley settlement obtained their fuel. "I was crouched low, picking away at the roof, and I must have cracked one of the supporting ledges of coal," Wright said. "The first thing I knew the whole roof of the tunnel had caved in, smashing me to the ground." "My arms got pinned, but I kept trying to work them loose, so I could poke some air holes through the rock and dirt. I don't know whether I was hurt or not. I only knew that I had to get air. "Then I lost consciousness. When I came to, they were working on me out on the hillside." The rumbling of rock down the steep slope above the mouth to the tunnel first apprised neighbors of the accident. Hearing the noise, Homer Phillips, a neighbor of Wright, exclaimed, "I wonder if that's at the mine?" He and his wife rushed to the tunnel and saw Wright's legs protruding from the debris that cluttered the entrance. Their cries aroused others, and a rescue crew soon was working feverishly to free the entombed man. Twenty minutes after he had been trapped by the cave-in Wright was dragged, unconscious, from the tunnel. A neighbor revived him by artificial respiration. He was rushed to Mercy Hospital, and X-rays taken to determine the extent of his injuries.
Source document
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| NOV 1936 |
Abandoned Mine Shaft Fall of Person, Merced, California — Alvin Peterson, 22, was critically injured as the result of a fall down a 150-foot abandoned mine shaft. Peterson suffered a fractured pelvis, spine injuries, possible basal skull fracture and internal injuries, arm injuries and numerous lacerations and bruises. He was rushed to the hospital by Dr. J. S. Webster of Mariposa. Source document
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| Abandoned Anthracite Mine Rescue, Morris Ridge, Pennsylvania — Rescuers found Andrew Chuba, 19, and Michael Bolick, 18, alive yesterday after 7 hours entombment in a coal hole at nearby Morris Ridge. The youths were taken to an Ashland hospital suffering from shock. They were trapped after they entered an abandoned hole. Source document
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| MAY 1936 |
Abandoned Mine Rescue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — Two would-be copper thieves were rescued and arrested 15 hours after they became lost in an abandoned coal mine near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Police arrested Arthur Tonner, 35, and Robert Dyer, 36, after they were rescued from 15 miles of tunnels by a crew from the U. S. Bureau of Mines. The officers said Tonner and Dyer went into the mine to hunt copper wire while another man, Edwin Miller, 35, stayed above ground, on guard. Miller was also arrested. Source document
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| SEP 1935 |
Abandoned Mine Cave-in Fatality, Connellsville, Pennsylvania — Norman Thomas, 16, was trapped and fatally injured while digging coal in an abandoned pit hole. A fall of dirt broke his neck. Clyde Keffer, Jr., 11, brought help in a few minutes but Norman died in a hospital. News Article
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| APR 1935 |
Abandoned Anthracite Mine Cave-in, Newtown Hill, Pennsylvania — Roy Gauntlett, 32, was rescued from an abandoned mine working at nearby Newtown Hill, where he was held trapped by a fall of coal for eight hours. Gauntlett was taken to a hospital to be treated for exposure and exhaustion. A score of men tunneled through the fall to the spot where he was buried, while he directed the rescue. Source document
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| NOV 1934 |
Abandoned Lincoln Colliery Cave-in, Pottsville, Pennsylvania — Charles Barr, of Pine Grove, was reported recovering from a harrowing experience of being entombed for more than six hours in an abandoned mine shaft. A rush of earth and coal trapped Barr in the abandoned workings at the Lincoln colliery. Twenty men digging in shifts rescued him. Source document
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| JUN 1934 |
Abandoned Diamond Colliery Rescue, Scranton, Pennsylvania — The wanderings of two North Scranton boys in the darkness of the abandoned Diamond Colliery of the Glen Alden Coal Company, ended after — 75 hours — of torturous travel through pockets of blackdamp and perilous cave squeeze areas. Their underground journey was terminated in a thrilling rescue by Fuhrman Ballus, who on his second attempt in two days to locate the boys, found them without lights, huddled against the gob. The youths, Walter Gilasavage, 13, and John Stasko, Jr., were sadly the worse for their experience when brought to the surface. Both boys were exceedingly nervous and exhausted almost to the point of emaciation. The youngsters each lost nine or ten pounds in the adventure and had been without food for three days. The only water available was the subterranean drippings of sulphur water. Gilasavage was taken to the state hospital and was examined. His physical condition was reported as good considering shock and his long vacation from the dinner table. Stasko was treated by a physician and was removed to his home. Both boys had bruises on the leg from tearing along the road and vaulting over fall of roof. The boy were so weakened as to be scarcely able to follow Ballus over the gangway as he piloted them to the surface. Source document
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| MAR 1934 |
Abandoned Mine Cave-in Fatality, Pomeroy, Ohio — Caught by a fall of slate when he sought to put out a fire started by a whisky still, Will Durst, 36, was killed in an abandoned mine near here. Slight injuries were suffered by Van Brown, a state mine inspector. News Article
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| OCT 1933 |
Abandoned Mine Lost Person, Indiana, Pennsylvania — Suffering from shock, exposure, and exhaustion after spending 18 hours in a dark, partly flooded old mine, nine-year-old Milton Hancock was barely able tonight to tell of his weird experience. "I was too scared to sleep, I just walked and hollered and then sat down," the youngster told Dr. E. M. Bushnell of Black Lick, who was called after a posse found Milton this morning. Barefooted and wearing summer clothing, the boy went into the mine with his uncle, Louis Hancock, yesterday to salvage some coal for the house. Milton wandered away and became lost. The uncle hunted, then called friends and firemen. Sheriff A. Eugene Wilson, his deputies and highway patrolmen took up the search through the labyrinthine of passages in the mine, which has not been worked regularly since the World war. Source document
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| AUG 1933 |
Abandoned Anthracite Mine Cave-in, Shenandoah, Pennsylvania — Earl Spears, 43, father of five children, was killed beneath a fall of dirt and rock while picking coal in an abandoned mine near Shenandoah. His brother, Carl, who accompanied him, was partially imprisoned but managed to free himself. News Article
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| MAR 1933 |
Bootleg anthracite miner, John Cheslock, was rescued from the abandoned Sayre colliery near Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania. In a state of collapse, but conscious, Cheslock was rescued following a 4 day entrapment. Sadly, John Cheslock, Jr., 27, entombed in the abandoned mine near for more than 100 hours after he was trapped by a slide of earth and rock, died in Ashland State Hospital, 12 hours after he was rescued. Mr. Cheslock was trapped in the abandoned working while picking up coal with Stanley Orluskie. Orluskie escaped when he grabbed hold of a ladder as an avalanche of dirt rushed down on them. Cheslock was swept down the untimbered mine hole. After sinking a shaft 775 feet, they finally reached Cheslock. He was removed to Ashland State hospital. First examination of the youth revealed that his injuries were not serious. Physicians at the hospital believed his death was due to shock. Source document 1 Source document 2
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| Bituminous Strip Mine Operation Fatality, Harmon Creek, Pennsylvania — Crushed by a slide in a coal stripping plant where they had gone to gather coal for their homes, David Crawford, 59, was found dead, and his brother Joshua, 45, seriously injured. The younger brother's wife found the two men after she and other members of the family had searched all night. They were lying in an excavation, made by a steam shovel at the Harmon Creek coal company's stripping operations. News Article
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| FEB 1933 |
Lucky Baldwin Mine Fall of Person, Placerville, California — Lester Simmons, engaged with companions, climbed about 30 feet down the shaft, part of the abandoned Lucky Baldwin mine, to bring out some iron ore. He slipped from the ladder, his friends said, and fell about 5 feet before his clothes caught on a piece of timber. He dangled in the shaft for an undisclosed period, which mining men said was between 1,000 and 1,500 feet deep, until his companions lowered a rope and brought him to the surface. Source document
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| DEC 1932 |
Moonshiners Asphyxiated in Abandoned Mine, Montgomery, West Virginia — Carbon monoxide gas from a fire burning in an unused mine near Montgomery took the lives of a man and a boy who had entered the mine apparently to operate a moonshine still. The victims of the unusual accident were Elver Van Meter, 19, and Jack Reed, 37. They had entered the mine shortly after nightfall through an entrance at an opposite side from the mine in which the fire had been burning in the coal for more than a year. A breeze apparently carried the fumes through the mine and to the two men. Van Meter was overcome before he could make a move toward the outside. Reed pulled himself a few feet toward the entrance before he become unconscious. The bodies of the two men were found when Mrs. Reed became alarmed at her husband's absence. She called a neighbor, and he entered the mine and discovered the bodies. News Article
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| AUG 1932 |
Abandoned Badger Mine Fall of Person, Little Lost River, Idaho — Ole Meddaugh, 50, Little Lost River miner, was suffering from an imprisonment of six days and nights in an abandoned mine shaft 45 miles east of Arco, Idaho. He was rescued the day before in a weakened condition after his continued absence had given rise to fears for his safety. A week earlier Meddaugh lowered himself with a rope for 60 feet into the abandoned shaft of the Badger mine and descended the remaining 40 feet to the bottom of the shaft on timbers. When he attempted to ascend the timbers gave way and he saved himself from dropping to the bottom by hanging to a projecting rock. Since he was unable to reach the dangling end of the rope, he found a seat on a rock and waited for help to arrive. Source document
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| JUL 1932 |
Abandoned Nellie Mine Cave-in, Uniontown, Pennsylvania — Rescuers recovered the bodies of a man, and two small boys buried in a fall of tons of slate in Nellie mine. Allert Shearer, 35, unemployed, of Vanderbilt, went into the abandoned mine working with his sons, James, 8, and Charles, 10, to dig coal. Physicians said Shearer and James probably had died within a short time after the cave-in; Charles had been dead but a few minutes. News Article
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| JUN 1932 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person Fatalities, Glen Carbon, Illinois — Two boys living near an abandoned shaft of what was formerly Mine No. 4 of the Madison Coal Corporation east of Glen Carbon lost their lives when they fell part way down the shaft. They were found by Frank Hauranek, 18-year-old brother of one of the victims. Authorities and mine company officials were endeavoring to determine the circumstances under which they were killed. The dead boys are Henry Polach, 13, and John Hauranek, also 13. The two bodies were lying on the "third landing" of a flight of stairs into the mine. Henry, the smaller boy of the two, was lying on the step just above the body of his associate. Both were bruised. The Hauranek boy had a bruise over the right temple and a depression in the skull which may have caused concussion of the brain. He also had a slight depression of the skull over the right ear. That the Polach boy received an injury to the back and spinal cord which caused his death. News Article
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| FEB 1932 |
Abandoned Anthracite Mine Collapse, Swoyerville, Pennsylvania — Nicholas Drobniak, 19, was caught under a fall of coal and instantly killed today at an abandoned stripping operation in Swoyerville. The young man with several companions was mining coal at the place when the mishap occurred. A large chunk of the mineral dropped upon him. His skull and left leg were fractured when he was removed. His coworkers escaped without a scratch. News Article
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| JAN 1932 |
Abandoned Mine Cave-in Fatality, Shamokin, Pennsylvania — Edwnrd Topolskl, 22, trapped by a cave-in while seeking coal for his home, was brought to the surface of an abandoned mine at Shamokin last night. News Article
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| DEC 1931 |
Abandoned Mine Cave-in, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — Clarence Bohman, 31, trapped by a fall of slate and dirt digging coal in an abandoned mine near his home was rescued by nearby residents after an undisclosed period. Source document
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| OCT 1931 |
Abandoned Mine Explosion Fatalities, Trinidad, Colorado — Three men died as a result of a blast in an abandoned coal mine near here which unemployed miners had hoped to work. They were killed while exploring a shaft idle for the last eight years with open lanterns. Nick Stagnoli, a companion, was injured dangerously by the explosion and resultant cave-in. A fifth man, Dan Scappucci, said he accompanied the party to the entrance, but had declined to go further in fear of coal damp. Rescue workers toiled five hours to reach the bodies. The dead were Identified as Frank Lapanl, Lorenco De Giacomo, and Sam De Giacomo. News Article
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| MAR 1931 |
Anthracite Coal Outcrop Cave-in Fatality, Pottsville, Pennsylvania — Chris Minchoff, 13, Pottsville, was killed under a fall of top rock in the tunnel of an anthracite outcrop there. The boy was working in an abandoned tunnel mining coal for the use of his family when the fall occurred. A rescue squad of five men worked in the narrow tunnel for five hours before reaching the body. Three other members of the family escaped in the tunnel. News Article
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| DEC 1930 |
Abandoned Mine Multiple Asphyxiations, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — Five boys died, and a fireman recovered in a hospital from the effects of blackdamp in an abandoned mine. The bodies of Steve Polka, aged 10; Andrew Novak, aged 16; John Vojick, aged 14; Walter Kubala, aged 15; and Joseph Kasiclk, aged 17, were brought from the abandoned mine. They had been playing and gathering coal in the mine. Battalion Chief Saul Klein who crawled through the entrance to rescue the youths, was overcome. He was taken out of the mine by an aid, and rushed to a hospital where he was revived. Klein was among the first to arrive. He entered the mine without a gas mask and was overcome. Other firemen donned masks and brought the youths to the surface. News Article
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| APR 1930 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiation Fatality, Blossburg, Alabama — Carbon monoxide gas produced by a gasoline burner used to operate a whiskey still in an abandoned mine caused the death of John Manning, a young farmer. Authorities discovered him when they raided the distillery. Two companions, also found unconscious, were rushed to a hospital. They were expected to recover. News Article
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| 1920s |
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| OCT 1929 |
Abandoned Mine Cave-in Rescue, Youngstown, Ohio — Two boys were recovering after spending three hours trapped in an abandoned coal mine. An alarm was sounded by playmates of the pair when the two failed to return from an exploration trip. Police, firemen and city street employees gathered to remove the shale which had caved in after the boys entered. Before the work had progressed far a father of one of the boys found another entrance to the mine and had crawled 1800 feet into the shaft to help the imprisoned pair to freedom. One of the boys fainted as he was rescued. News Article
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| JUN 1929 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Franklin, Pennsylvania — Suspended on a rock, 80 feet down in an abandoned coal mine, with a pool of water below, William Harrison, 10, was rescued suffering from a broken leg, cuts, and bruises. He was removed to Grove City Hospital. The boy and a playmate went to the shaft and attempt to throw a heavy club into the hole. A nail in the wood caught in the boy's clothing and caused him to plunge into the opening. Rescuers worked for more than an hour before bringing the lad to the surface. Source document
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| NOV 1928 |
Abandoned Mine Explosion Fatalities, Himlerville, Kentucky — Three officials of the Glogora Coal Company were instantly killed in a mine explosion which rocked the countryside near Himlerville. The men were on an inspection tour of an abandoned mine with a view of gathering data concerning the reopening of the mine when the blast let go. It was thought the deadly "black damp" in the mine became ignited and caused the explosion. Those killed included Richard H. Williams, Charles H. Beidenmiller, and C. D. Schlegel, president, chief engineer, and superintendent, respectively, of the company. News Article
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| AUG 1928 |
Old Orchard Mine Asphyxiations, Cambridge, Ohio — Benjamin and William Kissenger, brothers, aged 28 and 26, were rescued from the abandoned Old Orchard coal mine, after being overcome by gas in the old workings for 30 hours. They were revived and tonight and apparently are out of danger but were too weak to relate their unusual experiences. The thrilling rescue of the brothers was effected by State Mine Inspector Jerome Watson and a crew of experts from his office In Columbus. Several attempts were made to find the men which proved unsuccessful because of the dread black damp. Late in the afternoon, after the rescue car had been brought to the scene, the squad found the unconscious men 3,000 feet from the mine entrance. Search for the Kissenger brothers was started after they had failed to return home from an expedition to explore the abandon workings. The state mine inspector rescue office was notified, and Watson, with his squad, rushed to the scene. Fresh air was pumped into the old mine, enabling the workers to search for the men in comparative safety. The Old Orchard mine had been closed for the previous 15 years. Source document
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| AUG 1925 |
Multiple Abandoned Coal Mine Asphyxiations, Pleasantville, Iowa — Three youths fainted and plunged to death in an abandoned coal mine near Pleasantville, Iowa. Ildon Koons, 12, was overcome by gas while climbing down a ladder and fell. His older brother Milburn, 19, summoned to the mine was also overcome and followed his brother in a fatal fall. Donald Hodgson, 17, was overcome and fell too, in a futile attempt to rescue the other boys. The bodies were recovered by means of grappling hooks. News Article
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| FEB 1925 |
Abandoned Mine Shaft Fall of Person, Galena, Kansas — Jesse Toller, 8 years old, was saved from a watery grave when he was rescued following an undisclosed period after plunging fifty feet into an abandoned shaft containing twenty-five feet of water. Aside from being badly frightened and ducked twice in the icy cold water, the second time when he fell from a rope while being hoisted from the shaft, the child suffered no ill effects from his perilous experience. The boy fell into the shaft while on his way home from school, at noon. Several other school children were with him when the accident occurred, and they notified several men nearby. They shouted into the shaft and when the youth replied a looped rope was lowered. The boy could not swim but was clinging to the walls of the shaft. He was instructed by his rescuers to place the loop under his arms. This he did and was hoisted about fifteen feet when he slipped out of the loop and again plunged into the water. Percy Watson, who was in the rescue party, volunteered to go into the shaft after the boy. He was lowered and found the child clinging to the loop of the rope. The boy was tied securely and pulled out. An ambulance from the Clark Undertaking Company took him to his home where an examination failed to reveal any injuries. Source document
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| JAN 1925 |
Abandoned Mine Cave-in, Mount Washington, Pennsylvania — Tony Bertullo,14, was rescued from an abandoned mine in Mount Washington after having been imprisoned for twenty hours by a cave-in. The boy was exploring the mine Saturday when a portion of the roof fell, confining him in a space about five feet square. He was rescued by his father and a neighbor after an all-night search had led them to the abandoned mine. With the exception of being hungry, the boy showed no ill effects. Source document
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| Aug 1924 |
Abandoned Gold Mine Shaft Fall of Person Fatality, Howbert, Colorado — Rev. Chalfont Groves, of Pittsburgh, Pa., was killed by a fall into an abandoned gas filled mine shaft near Howbert, Colorado. Albert Davidson, of Howbert, who was accompanying the minister, was overcome by gas at the bottom of the shaft and was rescued by Harry Rogers, of Howbert, a third member of the party. Davidson's condition was serious. Rev. Groves, who was 26, was a member of a picnic party. The three men decided to explore the deserted shaft which twenty-five years ago was a producer of rich gold ore. Davidson went down first with flashlights and apparently was overcome by the gas before he could call for help. The minister was following and it is believed a rung on the old ladder broke under his weight and he plunged to the bottom of the shaft. Rogers carried Davidson up the ladder and later brought out Rev. Groves' body. News Article
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OCT 1922 |
After becoming lost in an abandoned coal mine for two days and a night at Pomeroy, Ohio, Jack Gobel was found by a searching party. Gobel became lost after a dynamite explosion jarred him enough to put out the light on his miner's cap. The search party was formed after his wife notified mine officials. Source document
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| JUN 1922 |
Shuttered Mines Lures Five to Death, Huntington, Arkansas — Five persons lost their Ilves near Huntington, Arkansas when two men sought to save three children who had wandered to the mouth of the mines closed since the strike. The children were overcome by "black damp" gas, as were the men who sought to rescue them. Names of the victims were not provided. News Article
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| Aug 1921 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiation, Gadsden, Alabama — Tobe Strickland died, and John McDaniel was seriously injured from the effect of gas in an abandoned coal mine. These were the results of the operation of a small still and making moonshine whisky. Strickland and McDaniel left their homes at 6:30 Thursday morning for the mine and when they did not return by noon the next day Mrs. McDaniel became alarmed and sent her son Carl to look for her husband. The boy returned home in a short while with the statement that he went to the mine and found the men in the mine, and that he thought both of them were dead. Mrs. Daniel gave the alarm, and her neighbors found Strickland was dead and McDaniel was in an unconscious condition, but he was revived soon afterwards. News Article
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| Jun 1921 |
Abandoned Bicknell Mine Shaft Fall of Person, Knox County, Indiana — Jeff Wedding, 35 years old, while dismantling a fan in the old Bicknell mine in northern Knox county today, fell down the shaft and was killed instantly. The mine was abandoned some time ago and full of gas and water. The fumes were so deadly that it was impossible for one to stand over the opening. The mine contained thirty feet of water. A rescue party with helmets was planning to enter the mine to recover the body. News Article
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DEC 1920 |
Abandoned Bellaire Mine Rescue, Bellaire, Ohio — Ross Julian, 40, gave thanks for his life to the promptness of the helmet men in effecting his rescue from asphyxiation by black damp in an abandoned mine at Bellaire, Ohio. Julian said that if the rescuers had been a half-hour later, he would have succumbed to the deadly gases. The man's lamp gave out while he was in the mine and, becoming confused, he walked away from the mouth of the mine. He wandered around in the darkness for several hours and was beginning to lose consciousness when mine inspectors reached him. Source document
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| OCT 1920 |
Abandoned Manitou Copper Mine Fall of Person, Peekskill, New York — While conducting his class in minerology through the old Manitou copper mine, about three miles north of Peekskill, H. C. A. Schmitt, aged 60, a professor in the Hackley School, Tarrytown, slipped into a half-concealed shaft, 250 feet deep, and dropped into a deep pool of water at the bottom. Professional divers searched the pool extensively but could not find the body. Prof. Schmitt and other instructors from the Hackley School, accompanied by a party of students, went to Manitou to explore and do research work in and about the mine. It was believed that other tunnels radiated from the bottom of the shaft, and that the body had floated into one of these passages. News Article
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| Jul 1920 |
Abandoned Mine Rescue Team Training Fatalities, Seattle, Washington — Five men, forming the mine rescue team of the Pacific Coast Coal Company's mine at Black Diamond, were overcome by gas today during a practice drill in an abandoned mine. Two are probably dead and three others rescued in a serious condition will likely recover, according to information received in Seattle. The deceased, according to the report were Henry DeWinter, Hugh Hughes, and James Hudson. The other two in serious condition were not named. News Article and Accident Report
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| Abandoned Mine Drowning Fatalities, Owensboro, Kentucky — Joe Fuqua, aged 50, and his son Robert, age 15, were drowned in the shaft of the abandoned Fern Hill Coal Mine west of Owensboro. The father and son left home early this morning for the purpose of picking blackberries. The supposition is that the young boy was leaning over the shaft of the mine and was overcome by the fumes of black damp. It is thought that his father descended a ladder in an effort to rescue him and he too was overcome and fell into the water. News Article
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| 1910s |
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| NOV 1919 |
Anthracite Coal Outcrop Cave-in Fatality, Germantown, Pennsylvania — While in a mine breach getting winter coal, William Pechesky, aged 21, was caught under a fall of top. He was rescued in two hours and died shortly after. He was the only support of his widowed mother and several small children. News Article
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| SEP 1919 |
Abandoned Rudisill Mine Shaft Fall of Person, Charlotte, North Carolina — After his fall to the bottom and being trapped all night and half a day, Miles Pegram was pulled from the 36-foot Rudisill gold mine shaft. Nearby residents who heard his calls went to his rescue and sent ropes down and hauled him to the top. He was not injured. Mr. Pegram was in the vicinity of the old mine, when he stepped into some honeysuckle vines and fell. Before he could recover, he had plunged into the hole and went to the bottom. At police headquarters it was said the entrance to the shaft was so hidden by the growth of vines that it was not surprising than an accident had come. Source document
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| AUG 1918 |
Men Lost in Abandoned Mine, Morgantown, West Virginia — Lost in an abandoned coal mine, without lights, and prisoners for five hours, Walter Mayfield, Harley Warman and J. C. Fortney, prominent residents of this city, were saved by a searching party after they had given up hope of rescue. The men went into the mine to investigate it when their lamp went out and for five hours they wandered about vainly in an effort to find their way out. Source document
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| JUL 1918 |
Benton Mine Lost Miner, Benton, Illinois — Tony Dooering, a miner, was rescued from the Benton Coal Company mine at Benton, Illinois after being lost for two days without food or drink. He was said to have started for the main shaft and became lost, wandering around in abandoned parts of the mine. Several hundred searched the mine before he was found. Source document
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| MAY 1917 |
Abandoned Anthracite Mine Cave-in, Pittston, Pennsylvania — Two boys, Sylvester W. McKeon, age 12 and Robert E. Fear, age 13, were rescued after they descended the slope of a hole that had caved in the ground and entered the chamber of an old mine to gather coal. They were caught by a fall of earth overhanging the entrance to the chamber. Sylvester was buried to his hips, and Robert was buried to his chest. Cracks at the top of the hole and the dropping of clay earth overhanging the chamber indicated another cave-in was imminent. Their rescuers were Michael J. Franklin, Edward F. Norton, and Patrick J. Gallagher, both track layers. After an undisclosed period, the men first extracted Sylvester followed by Robert. The three men were awarded the Carnegie Hero Award for their bravery. Source document
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| JUL 1916 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiations, Newtonville, Indiana — Arthur Parker, age 16, and Vincent Bullington, age 14, met with death in an abandoned mine near Newtonville in Spencer county. The youngsters were found by Edward E. Parker, father of the former, at a depth of 22 feet in the shaft. Before he could drag the boys out he realized that he was being overcome by gas. He at once cried out in horror, which was heard by a nearby neighbor, who came to his rescue just in time. By lowering a rope into the shaft, Mr. Parker was saved. Evidently, the boys had gone down the shaft to explore the mine, where they suffered a horrible death by being overcome by gas. News Article
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| JAN 1916 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Globe, Arizona — L. Lepi, a miner, was found and rescued by men working at a nearby mining lease after being robbed and thrown down a 40-foot shaft of an abandoned mine two days earlier. The miner was suffering from bruises of the face and knees, declaring he was nearly famished and that he was minus a $20 gold piece taken by the robbers. Lepi said that he was attacked by two men. They took his gold, but overlooked $300 in currency, and then hurled him into the shaft. He called for help frequently throughout the two days. The men who rescued him said they heard a voice yesterday, but did not recognize it us a call for help. Source document
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| JUL 1915 |
Johnson Colliery Lost Person, Dickson City, Pennsylvania — Lawrence Brady, 60, was found in an abandoned working of the Johnson mine at Dickson City, near Scranton. He had been wandering aimlessly for nearly 3 days in the darkness of an underground prison which seemed to offer no means of escape. Brady was employed for a number of years at the Johnson colliery. About three months earlier he quit his job, but instead of removing all of his tools, he hid some of them in an abandoned part of the workings. Recently he became re-employed and decided to gather his hidden tools. Knowing that he would be gone for some hours he carried a lunch with him in a dinner pail. According to Brady's story, he had only proceeded a short distance through an old chamber when the light of his lamp played out, and he was left in the darkness, not having any matches with him. Rescuers found his dinner pail at the top of the heading and following the course indicated by its position, found the missing man. Source document
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| APR 1915 |
Abandoned Mine Rescue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — After they had gone missing for a week, two small boys were located by searchers in a long-abandoned mine. The boys were in a small 5-foot drop that had several inches of water in it. Albert Tomlinson, age 10, was found barely alive and hungry. His companion, William Hale, age 5, was dead, believed to have starved to death. The Hale boy was partly submerged in water and his head was held in the lap of Tomlinson. Source document
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| MAR 1915 |
Lost Boys Found in Abandoned Mine, Banksville, Pennsylvania — When searchers, peering into the dark recesses of an abandoned coal pit, lighted only by their pit-lamps, saw a young boy staggering toward them, dragging a limp form that might have been a sack, a search that had continued a week ended and a ghastly tragedy came to light. The boy who dragged his burden toward the dim flicker of the pit lamps was Albert Tomlinson, 10 years old, of Banksville. The limp form was Willie Hale, a five-year-old playmate. "Willie is dead." the searchers heard the elder boy sob. Almost starved when found, bruised and cut from contact with sharp slate and coal as he had groped about in the unlighted worklng, the boy quickly lapsed unconscious. He was hurried to St Joseph's Hospital for treatment. The boys had been lost for — 8 days — in the mine. The Banksville entry of the abandoned mine was in the back yard of the Tomlinson home. Although within probably 200 yards of home, young Tomlinson and his companion had not been able to find their way out of the working, and even daily searches of the pit by members of the family and neighbors had been futile. Source document
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| DEC 1914 |
Bituminous Coal Digging Cave-in Fatality, Martindale, Pennsylvania — Tony Callen, aged 16, was crushed to death at Martindale, near Portage in Cambria county last evening while digging for coal to keep his home warm. His 10-year-old brother escaped the 20-foot mine unhurt. The two boys went to a hillside near their home, and were digging under rocks when the roof caved in. News Article
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| NOV 1913 |
Sunday Creek Mine No. 9 Lost Miner, Shawnee, Ohio — Ben Arbaugh, 37, was rescued from the Sunday Creek Mine No. 9, after being lost for — three days and nights — in an abandoned part of the mine without food or water. He went into the mine on October 31st to get some tools and became confused. He wandered into an old tunnel and tramped for hours trying to find his way. Arbaugh's lamp finally burned out and he groped around in the dark for 48 hours. Exhausted and partly overcome by black damp, he gave up all hope of escape. When found he was in a semi-conscious condition, but soon regained his senses after being brought out to light and fresh air. He would recover. Source document
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| OCT 1913 |
Trapped in an abandoned chamber of the Continental Mine operated by the Lehigh Valley Coal Company in Centralia, Pennsylvania, Thomas Toshesky was finally freed by rescuers after 8 days. He was in good condition and spirits, refusing a stretcher and making it out of the mine under his own power. Source document
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| JUN 1912 |
Abandoned Mine Electrocution Fatality, Jasonville, Indiana — Frank Bridwell, 12 years old, was found dead In the Bogel mine, about two miles northeast of Jasonville. In water which scarcely covered his body, it is thought that he had been struck by a bolt of lightning while in swimming. News Article
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| MAY 1912 |
Abandoned Anthracite Mine Roof Fall Fatalities, Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania — Two boys aged 13 and 14 years, were killed and three others about the same age, were seriously injured by a fall of coal in an old abandoned mine working which they were exploring. Since the suspension of the mines, miners have been taking coal out for their own use. Earlier in the day, miners fired a shot in the old drift and then retired for the air to clear. While gone, the five boys came along and out of curiosity entered the drift. They got to the spot where the shot had been fired when the roof gave way and tons of coal fell down. Four of them were pinned down by the fall. John Keretis, aged 14, with a broken leg crawled to the mouth of the drift where he notified several men who came along soon afterward. They found James Besloch, aged 18, with a broken arm and leg, and Frank Thursick, aged 15, with a broken leg, pinned down by debris. John Megosh, aged 14, and Frank Sketulsko, aged 13, were under a mass of coal, their deaths having been instantaneous. News Article
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| FEB 1912 |
Eddy Creek Mine Rescue, Dickson City, Pennsylvania — Michael Hudy was rescued by a searching party after being lost for 3 days in the Eddy Creek mine of the D & H Coal Company. Hudy was found in an abandoned working, exhausted, starving, and lying in a ditch. He could not explain how he lost his way. He was expected to recover. Source document
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| JAN 1912 |
Ellen Mining Claim Fall of Person, Avawatz Mountains, California — Walter Crawford, an aged miner, was rescued from the abandoned shaft of the Ellen mining claim in the Avawatz mountains by Burt Lawrence and Chris Holman after the old man had been held prisoner for over a day. He had started to lower himself into the shaft for the purpose of examining the ledges when the rope broke, and he was precipitated to the bottom. The rescuers were passing the shaft and were attracted by Crawford's hat, which was lying near the mouth. Source document
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| MAR 1911 |
Abandoned Mine Shaft Fall of Person Fatality, Galena, Kansas — His grasp becoming weaker and weaker and the vitiating air of an abandoned mine shaft affected his reeling brain, Mort Friendt, a miner, lost his life after a battle between endurance and determination. With a companion Friendt was exploring a deserted shaft upon which they had a lease option. A pole, to which a rope was attached, was placed across the mouth of the shaft and the two slid down to the first shaft. They explored the workings and were about to drop further down the shaft when they discovered it was filled with water to within about eight feet of the level upon which they were standing. Frlendt's companion started to climb up the rope, lifting himself, hand over hand, until he reached the top. He called down to Friendt to hurry and received an answering call. A moment later the pole bowed under the weight of Friendt's body. His companion could tell from the sudden dips of the pole just when his friend exerted his strength to lift his body. The dips became less and less frequent and the companion realized that something was wrong. He called down to Friendt, but the only answer he received was a moan of distress. There were a few more feeble jerks upon the rope, then the pole suddenly straightened out, jerking the rope so that it curved over it. Miners were summoned from the neighborhood and, with the aid of grappling hooks, Friendt's body was recovered from the water at the bottom of the shaft. Source document
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| NOV 1910 |
Abandoned Mine Shaft Fall of Person Fatality, Redford, New York — The body of Charles Dubray, a Civil War veteran who disappeared from his home in Standish on November 2, was found by searchers in sixty feet of water in an abandoned mine shaft near Redford. The veteran's hat lying on the ground a few feet from the opening led the party to drag the shaft. Dubray left the home of a son in Standish to visit another son in Redford, taking with him pension papers and $20. No fear for him was felt when he failed to return, as It was thought he was prolonging his visit. On Sunday the two sons met and the fact that the father was missing came out. Search was instituted at once and was continued. The mine shaft was but a short distance from a short-cut path that the old man evidently took, and it is thought he missed the trail in the darkness and stumbled into the pit. The papers and money were still in Dubray's pockets. Source document
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| MAY 1910 |
Abandoned Mine Shaft Fall of Person, Ishpeming, Michigan — Miss Lulu Leisemer, member of Ishpeming high school faculty, laid critically ill at a local hospital as the result of injuries sustained by a fall of about 70 feet into an abandoned mine pit. Both legs and one arm was broken, and her head and face were injured. She is not injured internally, however, and the physicians said she may recover. She went to the mine pit to recover a glove left there Monday evening. Her companion stated that she deliberately jumped into the pit. There was no further reliable speculation regarding this statement. Source document
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| FEB 1910 |
Abandoned Mine Shaft Fall of Person, Dubuque, Iowa — While a crowd of boys were playing near a mineral shaft on the outskirts of the city. Albert Weisor, age 10, fell backwards into the shaft a distance of 30 feet. When taken out he was unconscious and was found badly cut about the head and face. He suffered internal injuries. He was taken to the hospital and his condition was critical. It was believed he might die. Source document
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| 1900s |
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| JUL 1909 |
Abandoned Mine Shaft Fall of Person, Houghton, Michigan — Searching parties were unable to find the body of 12-year-old Frank Pakling of Hurontown, who was drowned while trying to rescue his dog from an abandoned mine shaft. Attempts made today to raise the body with dynamite failed. It was believed the body laid at the bottom of the old slope several hundred feet below the surface. Source document
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| JUN 1909 |
Abandoned Mine Cave-in Fatalities, Asheville, North Carolina — Buried in an abandoned mica mine in the great mountain forests of Mitchell county, far removed from any habitation, John English, a young prospector, pinned by a mass of earth and mica which covered him as he stood upright from his feet to his chin so that only part of his face protruded, endured the agonies of hunger and thirst from Monday morning until Wednesday night. The only sounds in the desolation wore the groans of his companion, Henry Woody, who finally died i1801n agony, and the yelping of English's little dog, which brought rescue, which, however, came too late, as Woody was dead when his body was recovered, and English died a few hours afterward. News Article
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| MAY 1908 |
Anthracite Mine Shaft Fall of Person Fatality, Inkerman, Pennsylvania — A terrible accident which caused the death of Alexander Hendrilitis, a thirteen-year-old Italian boy, occurred at the No. II shaft of the Pennsylvania Coal company at Inkerman. The young lad left his home early In the day, telling his mother he was tired of being idle and was going to the mines to look for work. He went, only to be carried home an hour later dying, with nearly every bone broken in his body. It appeared that the boy went to the No. 11 shaft and stood about watching the hoisting apparatus work. Becoming curious he went up close to the opening and looked down in the dark hole where the carriage disappeared to return with its load of freight. While standing there holding on to one of the guideposts, he lost his balance and fell into the shaft, striking the hood of the carriage a hundred feet below. On the carriage at the time were several miners returning to the surface, and when the body struck the carriage with a sickly thud they were badly frightened, but little realized that It was a human form until the carriage reached the light. When the surface was reached it was found that the boy was alive and the mine ambulance was quickly called, but before medical aid could be summoned the boy died without regaining consciousness. Source document
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| JUL 1907 |
Anthracite Mine Hole Fall of Person, Shenandoah, Pennsylvania — While playing near a mine hole on the Locust Mountain, William Graham, Jr., had a narrow escape from death or serious injury from a fall. The hole was perpendicular for a considerable distance, and then sloped gradually. On the bottom of the lift was coal dirt which impeded the fall and saved the lad from death. Upon landing he slid down the slope unable to check his progress. Playmates, realizing the danger of their friend, summoned aid. Ropes and ladders were lowered to Graham with instructions to attach himself to the rope and ladders to tops of cliffs when raised. The child followed the orders and after an undisclosed period was hoisted to safety, bruised considerably. Source document
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| OCT 1906 |
Anthracite Mine Fall of Person, Middleport, Pennsylvania — Falling 400 feet down an abandoned mine shaft, Joseph Schroeder of Pottsville was rescued alive, after he had been virtually buried all day and all hope of his rescue abandoned. When examined it was found Schroeder had not even a broken bone. At the time, it was the most extraordinary escape known in the history of anthracite mining. Young Schroeder left town in the morning in company with William Kalbach, to shoot pheasants. While pushing their way through the brush toward the mountain top Schroeder took the lead. He walked into a drift, lighted a match, and called to Kalbach to follow. Suddenly he gave a cry of surprise and attempted to step back, but the ground at the edge of a hole gave way with him, and he plunged feet first down into an abyss.
Kalbach hurried forward and he, too, almost plunged down the hole after his companion. Had he done so the mystery of their disappearance probably never would have been solved. Seeing he could be of no aid to his unfortunate companion, Kalbach started down the mountain for Middleport on the run and in a short time a dozen men accompanied him back with long length of rope. They went as close as they possibly could in safety and called down the shaft. Nothing but the echo of their voices greeted them. Then they tied a weight to the end of a rope and lowered it carefully into the black pit. It struck several times along the side of the jagged opening, but finally it was lowered to its full length, but the bottom had not been reached.
Men were sent back to town for more rope and when they came back the attempt was again made, but again the end of the rope failed to reach bottom. Messengers were dispatched to the collieries at Kaska and Silver Creek, whence experienced mining men were sent by officials with a long coil of stout rope. This was lowered, and, although 200 feet of it was used, the bottom of the shaft could not be touched. Not a sound came from the black hole, except the rattling of the weighted rope.
Again, messengers were dispatched for more rope. The boy's father also arrived, accompanied by several employees of the shops. One of them, John Calloway, was lowered into the opening, and after going down 200 feet he heard cries for help. Calloway was then hoisted to the surface, where he related his discovery to the great joy of the boy's father. Calloway again went into the shaft, this time at the end of a rope more than 400 feet long. He found young Schroeder at the bottom of the pit and was drawn to the surface with him. Schroeder was terribly bruised and shaken, but no bones were broken, and he would recover. Source document
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| MAY 1906 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiations, Greensburg, Pennsylvania — Wasall Kircera gave up his life while trying
to save three boys from death in an abandoned mine, where blackdamp was known to escape from the old workings. The boys were playing and soon became senseless under the influence of the deadly gas. Kircera saw the boys peril, plunged down into the hole and hurled two of them to the outside. Then Kircera fell, overcome by the gas fumes. A friend went down after him and, after throwing the remaining boy out, dragged Kircera up the bank. The gas was too much for Kircera, however, and he died in a few minutes, while his friend was in a serious condition and not expected to live. Source document
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| OCT 1904 |
Abandoned Anthracite Mine Cave-in, Shenandoah, Pennsylvania — Frank Borjerko, an old miner, was digging coal for his family's winter supply in an abandoned drift at the Furnace colliery when the roof caved in, completely covering him. Fellow coal pickers, at the risk of their own lives, set to work and soon uncovered the victim's head, so that he could breathe. For twelve hours they feverishly worked to free him, despite another threatened fall, and finally got him out alive. He was seriously injured about the body and limbs. Source document
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| JAN 1903 |
Abandoned Anthracite Mine Fall of Ground, Olyphant, Pennsylvania — Abandoned workings of the Eddy Creek colliery of the Delaware and Hudson company beneath the very heart of the town of Olyphant caved in and engulfed four frame buildings, covering an aggregate ground space of 6,000 square feet. The settling was gradual, and people in the affected territory escaped safely. A gang of men and boys who were at work in the mine beyond the fall encountered a flooded "dip" or depression in a vein in making their way out by a circuitous route and had to swim from one rise to the other. No one above or below ground, however, sustained any injury. At 8 o'clock the settling began. At 3:30 o'clock it was no longer perceptible. A few houses are projecting over the edge of the pit. The vein that caved is 115 feet below the surface. The workings which caved were in the uppermost part of the worked out veins. The sink was caused by the bursting of water mains in the mine, the water flushing the foundation from under the bed rock of the surface. Source document
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| NOV 1902 |
Abandoned Mine Methane Explosion, New Straitsville, Ohio — Maurice O'Brien, a miner; Charles Sampson, stable boss; and Herbert Coran. bookkeeper, were killed by an explosion of gas in the Lost Run mine near here. It was supposed the gas found its way into the mine from an adjoining mine which has been abandoned for several years. It was believed the men went in to explore the mine and that the gas was ignited by the lights they carried. Source document
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| APR 1902 |
Abandoned Anthracite Mine Fall of Ground, Hamtown, Pennsylvania — Sixteen dwellings were wrecked at Hamtown, a small mining village near Wilkes-Barre, by a cave-in at the abandoned No. 8 colliery of the Pennsylvania Coal company. The broken water main was flooding the mine, and the cave was extending. Huge fissures appeared in the streets of the town and many houses were in danger. Residents near the mine were moving to places of safety. Source document
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| NOV 1901 |
Abandoned Anthracite Mine Rescue, Pittston, Pennsylvania — John Zuranki was rescued in a pitiable condition after spending 4 days lost without food and light in an abandoned Anthracite mine near Pittston, Pennsylvania. He was discovered accidentally by a watchman who had entered the mine. Zuranki was not missed from his boarding house since he told his family he was going away. Source document
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| JUL 1901 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiation Fatalities, Catsburg, Pennsylvania — Four Italian miners were found dead In an abandoned coal mine at Catsburg. They were Steve Coskey, Andrew Getzllnski, Mike Manoski, Frank Yanky. They attended an Italian dance at Monongahela and after the dance, it is understood, took a keg of beer and went to the mine. The wet weather caused an accumulation of fire damp, and all were suffocated. News Article
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| 1890s |
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| JAN 1897 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Ground, Shamokin, Pennsylvania — While Frederick Graeber and Miss Maud Gothie were driving along the public road, the earth caved in and they were precipitated into an abandoned mine working. The young woman jumped from the carriage but was unable to reach solid ground. She fell into the opening and was buried beneath the earth. Mr. Graeber remained in the carriage and sustained a compound fracture of one leg. Both horses were crushed to death. The searching parties were unable to locate the couple for 8 hours. Miss Gothie's body was horribly bruised and death must have been instantaneous. Both of Mr. Graeber's feet were frozen, and he was almost dead from exposure. It was feared that he couldn't recover. The cave-in was thirty feet deep. The couple was engaged to be married. News Article
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| AUG 1896 |
Abandoned Mine Missing Person, Benton, Wisconsin — Dennis Mehan. a resident of Bernard, Dubuque county, about 60 years old, disappeared from his home last Friday. Thursday night, August 6, his body was found in an abandoned mine shaft near Benton, Wisconsin. His throat was cut, and his hands were
upon an open razor. News Article
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| JUL 1896 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Ground, Tamaqua, Pennsylvania — Frederick Losch, 21, and John Aikin, Jr., 18, met an awful fate yesterday afternoon while picking huckleberries on the mountain side about a mile east of Tamaqua. They were entombed, either dead or alive, in an abandoned mine working. The people of Gerrytown and Tamaqua were startled about half-past 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon by a rumbling sound, similar to the forerunner of an earthquake. It came from the direction of the mountain side, where there are a number of mine breaches that had caved in eight years ago when the pillars were robbed in the first lift of No. 11 colliery of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. Many people went to the place and found a little girl standing on the brink of a new chasm that had been formed by one of the old breaches reopening. The child was crying and at first was so frightened that she could not tell anything and mutely pointed to the ugly hole. After she was quieted bystanders she was able to tell her story. She said that Frederick Losch and John Akin and herself had come there and that when they reached the cave-In the men told her to stay behind while they went into it to pick some berries. They had not been down more than a few minutes when the earth opened and they disappeared from sight. The ground shook terribly, the child said, when the cave-in occurred. Directly under the cave-in miners were at work In the second lift. They heard the noise but paid no attention to it at the time. The news of the terrible accident spread quickly and caused a pall of gloom to fall over the little towns nearby. No attempt was made to rescue the ill-fated men. as it was said by experienced miners that nothing could be done. They said the men must have gone down at least 100 feet into an old mine and if they were not killed in the fall, which was almost sure, they would be dead before they could be reached by tunneling. News Article
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| JUL 1893 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Ground, Pottsville, Pennsylvania — While hauling stone, William Muller, of Minersville, had a narrow escape from being buried alive at Black Heath. He was driving a double team, and the ground opened beneath his horses' feet and swallowed up the animals. Muller was thrown from his wagon and fell toward the breach. By a superhuman effort he managed to drag himself away from the verge of the hole. The breach led into the bed of Jones' workings which were abandoned years ago. It was about sixty feet deep. One of the horses was killed in the fall and the other was taken out in an almost suffocated condition. News Article
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| 1880s |
| APR 1884 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person Rescue, Leadville, Colorado — Richard Swan, a mining speculator of Leadville, Colorado, was rescued from a horrible fate, being found in the bottom of a deserted mine shaft, into which he had fallen six days before, and which had been his living tomb. His rescue was by the merest accident. James Barry and Charles A. Dean, two miners, while on their way to work heard the groans of someone in distress. Ropes and mining timbers were procured and Barry was let down the shaft. On reaching the bottom and striking a match he found a man lying face downward just in the entrance of a drift leading from the shaft. The man was unconscious, and his face unmistakably depicted the agonies of death by starvation. The unfortunate man was raised to the surface and carried to the city, where, after restoratives had been applied, he recovered consciousness. From the fall he suffered a sprained ankle and a bruised arm, but was not otherwise hurt. Source document
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| 1870s |
| AUG 1878 |
Abandoned South Utah Mine Fall of Person, Cedar Hill, Nevada — There was a good deal of excitement in town when it was announced that a man had been discovered in the bottom of a winze in an old tunnel on Cedar Hill, where he had been for more than 3 days. The discovery was made by two men who were out on the Geiger Grade for a walk. Arriving at an old tunnel called the South Utah they concluded to enter and take a look at the formation of the rock through which it had been cut. They had proceeded for some distance along the tunnel when they were startled at hearing in advance what appeared to be faint human moans. Calling out to know if anybody was below, there came a feeble cry of "Help, help." They then asked his name, and the answer came back, "Patrick Maguire." After help arrived, he was lifted to the surface and with little delay the poor fellow was taken to the County Hospital. Upon examination Dr. Kirby found that Maguire's left thigh was broken in three places, and the right in two places. The man was terribly injured, but Kirby thought he would be able to save his legs and his life. His many cuts and bruises were severe but not dangerous. Source document
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