It is interesting that they left to go caving at 10 pm.....alcohol and testosterone must have played a big part in their expedition planning.
On 3/21/08 9:06 PM, "Minton, Mark" <mmin...@nmhu.edu> wrote: > Frank Binney posted: > >> >Search Underway for 4 Missing Tennessee Cavers > > The following was posted today on VARList. I like how they say that the > lost cavers could not be heard over the noise of the waterfall, rather than > pointing out that cell phones don't work underground. :-) > > Mark Minton > > > From: Meredith Hall Johnson > Sent: Fri 3/21/2008 8:41 PM > To: varl...@listserv.vt.edu > Subject: [VARLIST] TN Cavers Safe--article > > Hi all, > I just came across this news item on wtop.com. None of these guys are in the > 2007 NSS Members Manual. > > 4 Tenn. Cavers Found Safe After Search > March 21, 2008 - 8:03pm > TOWNSEND, Tenn. (AP) - Rescuers found four cavers cold and wet but otherwise > safe after they didn't return as planned from an overnight spelunking trip in > Great Smoky Mountains National Park. > The four were found around 2 p.m. Friday in Rainbow Cave. They had left > Maryville, Tenn., around 10 p.m. the night before and had expected to return > five hours later. It is not clear why they didn't. > The wife of one of the cavers, Garry Blakesley, a 24-year-old youth minister > in Maryville, reported the group missing around Friday morning. Also missing > were Blakesley's brother, Dustin Blakesley, 17; Jake Layman, 17; and Chris > Smith > <x-excid://9FC10000/jmp:">http://wtop.com/?nid=733&inform_keyword=Chris+Sm > ith> <http://wtop.com/?nid=733&inform_keyword=Chris+Smith> , 20, all of > Owasso, Okla. > <x-excid://9FC10000/jmp:">http://wtop.com/?nid=733&inform_keyword=Oklahoma > > <http://wtop.com/?nid=733&inform_keyword=Oklahoma> > They had "little or no experience in caving and were very poorly equipped," > park spokesman Kent Cave said. Once they discovered they couldn't get out, > they apparently called for help but couldn't be heard over the sound of > underground waterfalls. > It might take until 10 p.m. Friday to remove the men from where they were > found in the cave, about 500 feet inside, Cave said. > "They were at the bottom of the third of three major vertical drops in the > cave," Cave said. "It's like rock climbing, but rock climbing in the dark with > water falling over you. The vertical drops are basically waterfalls." > Rangers and rescue workers began searching Rainbow Cave, one of four with > entrances in the area, after finding a backpack and rope belonging to the men. > A volunteer rescue squad from Knoxville > <x-excid://9FC10000/jmp:">http://wtop.com/?nid=733&inform_keyword=Knoxvill > e> <http://wtop.com/?nid=733&inform_keyword=Knoxville> , was helping in > the rescue. > (This version CORRECTS the spelling of 'Owasso' Okla.) >
