| Name | Age | Sex | Injuries | Injured areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green, Kathy | 32 | Female | Fractures | Head, face |
A group of six cavers entered Sloan's Valley Cave in Pulaski County, Kentucky via the Minton Hollow Entrance at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, November 24. For three members it was only their second cave trip. For that reason they had planned a trip of about seven hours through relatively easy walking or stooping passages to the White Grotto beyond the Minton Big Passage.
After seeing the White Grotto the group was heading out taking a slightly different route than the one taken it. This route led over huge breakdown blocks forming a high, long ridge through a passage 50 feet in diameter. The leader stopped to help others get up a high spot on the ridge. Kathy Green (32) was first and as the leader helped the next, she continued. Though the ridge is flat and several feet wide at that point, she apparently lost her balance. She screamed and the leader turned to see her go over the edge, falling about 20 feet onto breakdown.
The leader, Dennis Green, climbed down to find the victim wedged between two slabs of breakdown. She was unconscious, bleeding from the mouth and her face and neck were puffy. She was checked for fractures and then lifted from her wedged position and laid on a flat rock. She became conscious, but was in shock. She was made as warm as possible. It appeared her injuries were confined to her head and one wrist. The situation was complicated in that Dennis Green was the only one knowledgeable in first-aid and also the only one who definitely knew the route to the entrance.
Green and one other went for help. They made it to the entrance in about an hour despite losing their way at one point. His companion was left at a road junction to wait for one of their party who had not gone into the cave and Green drove on to the field house. Two cavers were there, so they got gear and medical supplies and headed back to the cave. A map of the cave showing the site of the accident was left with the landowner. Meanwhile, Green's companion had stopped someone with a CB radio who had called the Sheriff's Office.
The rescuers entered the cave at 9 p.m. and reached the victim at 10 p.m. Kathy Green had improved and was able to walk. She required assistance over breakdown and was not able to wear her helmet because of her head and facial injuries. She exited the cave at about 12:45 a.m.
Meanwhile, Sheriff's deputies and the Pulaski County Rescue Squad had arrived and tried to go to the victim in the cave, spending two fruitless hours searching.
The victim's injuries were diagnosed as multiple fractures of the jaw and cheekbone, a severely sprained wrist, a concussion, and multiple contusions on the right side of her back and body.
The accident was apparently due to stumbling or vertigo in a situation where even a very cautious caver would not belay.
The cavers criticized the Sheriff's Office for threatening to arrest them for committing a rescue without permission. The Sheriff's Office was actually within reason. One is not supposed to partake in rescue of a reported accident victim without the permission of the County Sheriff. This liaison is a problem for rescue groups everywhere. It is the cavers' job to properly establish their rescue capability with every County Sheriff in cave country so that they will be utilized when an accident occurs.
Broken jaw, cheekbone, concussion. The Cave Cricket Gazette Jan 1979.
This record was last updated on 27th Apr 2024 at 23:11 UTC.