| Name | Age | Sex | Injuries | Injured areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| King, Greg | 16 | Not recorded | Not recorded | Not recorded |
On Sunday, March 19, four cavers entered Drake Mountain Cave in Alabama. With a 200 foot rope they did the first 78 foot drop, looked at the second (128 foot), decided their rope was insufficient and started out. All got out except for Greg King (16) who had trouble with his prusik knots. After it became obvious he wasn't going to make it, the others went for help. When local cavers, called by the rescue squad, arrived, they began setting up a hauling system while one rappelled in. The victim was able to climb out on Jumars loaned from the rescuer.
Prusik knots are prone to be unusable when the wrong combination of sling and mainline is met. Thus, if you make your slings of a given material and diameter, and practice successfully on a given mainline, then meet a different mainline, or a line under different conditions of mud/water, you may find the slings do not work. It is reported that helical knots do not suffer from this problem.
Greg King (16) was unable to exit Drake Mountain Cave due to issues with prusik knots, requiring rescue.