| Name | Age | Sex | Injuries | Injured areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wagoner, John | 34 | Not recorded | Not recorded | Not recorded |
At about 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 26, 1984 two cavers entered the Devil's Den Cave near Coble, Tennessee. They rigged the entrance drop, a 75 foot descent - 25 feet of steep slope and 50 feet free to breakdown. They explored for a couple of hours then returned to the pit. At about 4 p.m. the first caver ascended on Jumars in about 15 minutes. John Wagoner (34) started up but at 30 feet the carabiner attaching his seat harness to a Jumar came undone. He rapidly fatigued and hung upside down. His companion dropped a rope and Wagoner tied this to his harness. He was then raised to an upright position. Then the main line was cut to lower his feet to a small ledge. His companion then went for help, at about 4:10 p.m. The Sheriff, Hickman County Rescue Squad and a couple of local cavers arrived. Brian Crist, a caver, directed the evacuation. A goldline was lowered and tied around the victim's chest as a belay line. A PMI was anchored at the surface and lowered to become the new main line. The victim was changed over to the PMI and instructed by Crist as he climbed out. In 30 minutes he was at the surface (6:10 p.m.).
The caver was not using a locking biner on his seat harness; this allowed the safety to the harness to detach, preventing him from doing the sitting phase of his (apparent) Texas rig. Biners can open in odd and unexpected ways.
John Wagoner experienced equipment failure when the carabiner attaching his seat harness to a Jumar came undone during ascent.