| Name | Age | Sex | Injuries | Injured areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gunn, Mike | 27 | Male | Not recorded | Not recorded |
Mike Gunn (27), Glenn Lemasters (25), Lynn Miller (37), Pat O'Connell (28), Dean Meyer (26) and Larry Wade entered Riverside Cave on Sunday, June 18. Wade was not equipped with a wetsuit and returned to the entrance an hour later and waited. The group proceeded upstream in a passage of just walking height. At one point they noticed a high room to one side. Pushing virgin crawlway with air space down to five inches the group broke into larger passage and spent several hours exploring.
On their way back out the water crawls, they each got out a waterproof light source. They got through the worst part, but still had about a thousand feet of 18 inch average height with 2-8 inch water depth to go. While relighting their carbide lamps they experienced a sudden surge of foamy, brown water! The passage behind was filled and that ahead was only a few inches higher. The "room" they were in was only a couple feet higher. The group fled in panic! Fortunately their wetsuits gave flotation and the force of the water was with them. They made good time. Near the entrance was a low place with deep water. This was found to be sumped, with the ceiling at least a foot below water. In waist-deep, flowing water the group forced their way upstream to the higher room noticed on the way in. They made it. In the course of this flight, more than one caver was forced to use waterproof light sources, cylumes or flashlights, made ready earlier.
Wade exited the cave about 3 p.m. A storm hit shortly afterward, dumping 3-5 inches of rain. He waited for hours, finally became apprehensive, and walked a mile to a friend's house to make calls to start a rescue. Cavers around Bloomington were called, and a wetsuit crew of five plus two with diving gear were raised. They started from Bloomington at 11 p.m. At 12:30 they were at the place where one walks to the cave. The County Sheriff showed up at that point to investigate the activity, was informed of the situation and called the State Police for assistance. A group sent to the cave at 1 a.m. became lost and didn't find the cave. Wildcat Cave was checked to see if a connection had been made which would have left the lost cavers at the bottom of the entrance drop of that cave. Another group checked Riverside Cave and estimated the entrance crawl to be 6 feet under water. At dawn they returned to Riverside and found the water level had dropped 4 feet. Rescuers then worked on a breakdown dam to further lower the water. Soon there was an air space.
Meanwhile in the cave, food and light were pooled and a watch was kept on the water level. By evening it had started to invade the room and the group moved into a crevice at the back where there was a dry dirt floor. Meyer began experiencing chills and was wrapped in a space blanket. By food was consumed and rest was alternated with walking to keep warm. By early morning the water began dropping. About 8:30 a.m. it stopped retreating but was still several inches above normal level. Hearing a hammering sound, Miller and Gumm went downstream to the low, deep water place, and made voice communication with the rescuers, just outside. They went back and got the others, passed through a length of 3-inch air space and were out.
Analysis: The cavers showed much good sense, which saved them, and some bad, which nearly killed them. To explore a stream cave with low, small passages conducting the water and a near sump at the entrance without assurance of good weather is not good judgement and has killed a number of cavers- it would have killed these except for the fortuitous high room. In such a cave one should always look for and note high places, as these cavers did, before it is needed. Carrying waterproof light sources is a must and the wetsuits provide more than comfort- they give a big margin of safety from hypothermia.
CIG News Jul-Aug 1978 p33. Bloomington Indiana Grotto Newsletter Nov 1978 p13. Bloomington Indiana Grotto Newsletter 13(4) Aug78 p79
This record was last updated on 27th Apr 2024 at 23:11 UTC.