| Name | Age | Sex | Injuries | Injured areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wynn, Benn | 48 | Male | Not recorded | Not recorded |
At about 4 p.m. on Sunday, September 7, six cavers entered Snail Shell Cave in Rutherford County, Tennessee. These were Ben Wynn (48) and five children from his neighborhood, Marty and LeRoy Judd (10 and 14) and Vickie, Donna and Connie Dearry 13). They had planned to exit at 6:30 p.m. On their way out, however, they inadvertently entered a passageway off the main route. While trying to back-track, their lights failed. They stopped and waited in the 65 degree cave. When they did not appear at 6:30 as expected, an alarm was raised eventually yielding the Rutherford County Rescue Squad. They arrived at the cave at 9 p.m. and searched inside for some time without success. In fact, several rescuers became lost themselves. At about 1:30 a.m. (Monday) one lost rescuer entered the same passage and encountered the lost cavers, somewhat cold and scared by this time. With light they were able to back-track to the correct route and proceeded out. Two other lost rescuers were found at a.m. further into the cave.
The cavers lights, which were probably flashlights, reportedly got wet and so ceased to function. A typical "non-organized" caver accident. The rescue was expedited by the fact that those outside knew what cave they were in and when to expect them out.