| Name | Age | Sex | Injuries | Injured areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erspamer, Pete | 19 | Male | Not recorded | Not recorded |
At around noon on Sunday, October 8, seven students from Grinnell College entered Skunk Cave, near Kendallville, Iowa. At about 2 p.m. one of the group, Pete Erspamer (19) was inching along a ledge in a crevice when he lost his footing and fell seven feet, becoming wedged in a narrower portion of the crevice. The group did their best to free him but could not and finally went for help.
Calls went out and many volunteers responded, including fire departments, Sheriff's deputies, and students from Luther College. The problem was not a simple one, however, in the restricted confines of the narrow cave. A block and tackle was tried first but could not be properly set up in the space available. A porta-power unit proved too big for the crevice. The victim meanwhile was suffering both mental and physical exhaustion. Levering the victim out was tried to no avail. Chisel and hammer were brought in to widen the crack but were not used. A doctor went in and gave the victim sugar intravenously. Finally Erspamer was freed by moving him down slightly, then horizontally through the crack with people both pushing and pulling at either end. At 2 a.m. he was free and at 3 a.m. was outside being taken to a local hospital. He had suffered no injuries.
The tight crevice-type cave makes a rescue very difficult. Here a great deal of time and manpower went into what looked like a simple situation. An experienced cave rescue group would have proved useful.
Student got wedged after falling off a ledge. Rescue was performed by non cavers who tried different methods that did not work and prolonged the rescue. Caver was freed after about 14 hours.
Pinned in crevice. Times-Plain Dealter (Cresco Iowa) 10/11/78. Decorah Public Opinion 10/10/78.
This record was last updated on 27th Apr 2024 at 23:11 UTC.