| Name | Age | Sex | Injuries | Injured areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown, David Scott | 16 | Male | Not recorded | Not recorded |
Around 5 p.m., on an impulse the owners of Dead Deer Cave decided to check their cave which lies approximately one half mile from their home. They found a motorcycle near the highway and helmets near the entrance. The owners were not worried since many people trespass on their property to visit the cave. Later in the evening they made two more trips to check on the trespassers. At 10 p.m. they contacted the Bexar County Sheriff's Department. At midnight the sheriff's office contacted the San Antonio Civil Defense which in turn contacted caver Chuck Stuehm. By 1:45 a.m. six cavers and four men from the sheriff's department were at the cave. Greg Passmore and John Graves entered around 2:15 a.m. Graves rigged a rope and took the lead. Passmore found two wallets and an NSS application form at the top of the pit.
Graves started climbing down a series of chimneys when he heard someone calling from below. Graves called out, "How many are there?" "Two, hurry we're in the pit," came a reply. "Are you hurt?" "My legs are broken and the other guy's dead." Both cavers wondered if this were really true or a hoax. Graves scrambled down the rest of the drop and saw a boy hanging in a tangled mass of ropes. Passmore joined Graves and they both saw the other boy lying on the floor of the pit half submerged in water. He was lying on his side and was not wearing a shirt. Graves rappelled down next to the boy hanging in the ropes and spun him around. Rigormortis had already set in and his face and lips were blue. He was David Scott Brown (16). Graves continued down to Paul H. Hagerty (16) who was shivering violently. Graves attempted to warm up the injured boy by giving him a Levi jacket and an extra carbide lamp. The victim was checked for injuries. He escaped the fall with only a broken leg and a broken jaw. Since it was impossible for Graves to move Hagerty by himself, he excavated a channel to drain some of the water from the pool where the boy was lying.
Passmore left the cave to get assistance, taking the two wallets for identification. Stuehm took charge of the surface aspects of the rescue. The Texas Cave Rescue group and Terry Jones, an experienced mountain climber and paramedic, were contacted for assistance. Explorer Post 700 set up two communications trucks with mobile phones installed in them. These phones were used to contact many cavers throughout Texas. Around 5 a.m. Jones reached the victim with blankets and then requested that an orthopedic surgeon be available on the surface. The Explorer Post ran communication lines from the bottom of the pit to the surface and then to the communication trucks. Ronnie Fiesler in Austin was contacted at 5:15. He gathered ten highly experienced Austin cavers who arrived at 8:30 a.m. At 6:30 a.m. the medical equipment arrived at the cave. The paramedic administered IV injections. They placed a traction splint on the victim's leg and then placed him in a litter. After the doctor arrived, morphine was given to the victim. With considerable effort, Hagerty was removed by 12:30 p.m. Sunday and the dead boy by 3:00 p.m.
Analysis: The two boys were inexperienced and had only a vague idea of what is involved in ropework. Only the expert action of many of the rescuers saved Paul Hagerty. At least 34 members of 6 Texas grottos helped in the effort.
Sources: Passmore, Greg. (1975) "The Accident: First Report." The Texas Caver. Vol. 20, No. 7, 107-109. Fiesler, Ronnie. (1975) "Second Report." The Texas Caver. Vol. 20, No. 7, pp.110-111.