| Name | Age | Sex | Injuries | Injured areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kircher, Wayne | 18 | Male | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| Shaver, Bobby | 19 | Male | Not recorded | Not recorded |
Saturday, 30 November 1974 Wayne Kircher (18) and Bobby Shaver (19) told a friend they were going cave exploring and left home with a large coil of 3/4-inch nylon rope. Using hand lanterns for light, the boys climbed hand-over-hand down the 55-foot pit on the thick rope, but subsequently found they could not ascend the rope. When the boys failed to come home for dinner, the Alachua County Sheriff's Department was notified. The police found the boys' car and the cave entrance. The owner of the land then notified members of the Florida Cave Rescue Team. One team member rappelled into the pit and found the uninjured boys. Only one cable ladder was available to the rescue team. Using a bowline rescue harness, one at a time the boys were tied into the Bluewater rope and given quick instructions on how to climb a cable ladder. A tight belay was maintained on the boys until they reached the top of the ladder, whereupon they were hoisted bodily out of the cave by the large group of people which had congregated. Both boys were out of the cave within an hour after the rescue team arrived. The rescue was quite successful in spite of being hampered by poor communications and having only about half the rescue team members present over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Analysis: Inexperience and lack of proper equipment.
Source: Report by Bill Oldacre
This record was last updated on 27th Apr 2024 at 23:11 UTC.