No injured cavers recorded.
At about 2 p.m. four Bluefield College students, Peter Dikternik, Larry Yates (20), Perry Coffey (18) and Jerry Johnson (18) entered Beacon Cave. Dikternik had trouble negotiating the tight spots so he left to wait for the others who promised to be out by 5 p.m. Shortly afterward Yates took a tumble and smashed his flashlight. The other flashlights in the group also began to peter out. Saturday evening Dikternik reported his friends overdue. The Bluefield Rescue Squad and nine members of the VPI Grotto participated in the search. The cavers were not found that night, and without food or water they huddled together and prayed.
At dawn the three noted a beam of light coming thru the bulldozed Hayne's Entrance. Coffey, who is tall but slim, was able to squeeze through the entrance, but his companions were too large. Coffey located the searchers who passed donuts and water to the trapped students. Other rescuers then led the two out the Beacon Entrance about 23 hours after they had entered.
The students were inexperienced and did not have adequate light, food, or other caving gear.