incident at Tiftonia Cave

Date
23rd Jan 1984
Publication
ACA 1983-1984 p. 357
Cave
Tiftonia Cave
State
Tennessee
County
Unknown
Country
United States of America
Category
Incident type
Lost
Group type
Unknown
Group size
6
Aid type
Unknown
Source
Unknown
Incident flags

Injured cavers

No injured cavers recorded.

Incident report

At about 4:30 p.m. a group of six cavers (teenagers) entered Tiftonia Cave in Tiftonia, Tennessee. The cave is apparently of sufficient complexity that some time later they became 'separated and lost.'
The destination of at least some of these teenagers was known, so when parents became concerned, they went to the cave entrance, found the kids' vehicles and called the police. Hamilton and Walker County Rescue Squads were brought in and at about 11:30 p.m. the lost cavers were found.

Incident analysis

It seems probable that a poor choice of lights contributed to this incident.

Summary

Six teenagers became separated and lost in Tiftonia Cave due to the complexity of the cave and probable poor choice of lights.

References

  1. Ed. 'Six Youths Found Safe After Being Lost 7 Hours in Tiftonia Cave' Chattanooga News Free Press January 24, 1984.
This record was last updated on 27th Apr 2024 at 23:11 UTC. The data was processed and input using AI.