| Name | Age | Sex | Injuries | Injured areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lazowski, Roman | 24 | Not recorded | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| Hall, Michael | 25 | Not recorded | Not recorded | Not recorded |
On Monday morning July 1, Michael Hall (25) and Roman Lazowski (24) approached Bronson Cave in Spring Hill Park near Bloomington, Indiana. It had rained steadily all night Sunday and was still raining as the two entered Bronson Cave, a stream inlet. Lazowski had been in the cave on previous occasions. They were dressed in shorts and tennis shoes and each carried a flashlight - their intention was to traverse underground to the Donaldson Cave entrance, which was the outlet for the stream entering Bronson Cave.
About halfway through they saw their first serious rapids, waist deep, which they "rode" for a few minutes. They came to a "humongous" rapids, where they tried to turn back but were prevented by the force of the flow.
They proceeded downstream but immediately lost control; Lazowski was swept downstream but grabbed a ledge and called back to Hall. Hall jumped into the water but was swept past Lazowski, "his flashlight sticking up out of the water his body went under." Hall was battered against the walls. Fortunately they were only 300 feet from the Donaldson entrance at that point and, 30 seconds later, Hall came washing out into daylight. He grabbed a railing and pulled himself out of the water. After finding his shorts which had been torn off by the force of the flow, he sought help. At a hospital he was treated for bruises, cuts and a chipped elbow.
Thinking his companion had drowned, Lazowski decided to stay put in the 54 degree cave. A few feet above the water he found a crevice with a six inch ledge. He had had survival training when a Marine and was determined to survive. On his ledge he had to constantly turn from side to side. Every once in a while he would move about but never found a stable position; he was always using something - elbows, knees, head - to hold himself in position. He yelled from time to time and was afraid to sleep - he might fall into the water or miss a rescuer. But he didn't give up. Time passed.
Meanwhile rescuers assembled - crews of cavers and numerous emergency service personnel. Because of Hall's emergence, they knew Lazowski was near the Donaldson entrance to the system. Yet the high water discouraged entry and intermittant rain kept the levels up. A canine unit was used to search downstream from the entrance in case Lazowski had washed out unnoticed.
A party of wetsuited rescuers entered Bronson but could proceed only 600 to 800 feet before being stopped by the water flow. Early Tuesday another party entered Donaldsons but could go only about 100 feet upstream, before being stopped by the current, at a place where the ceiling dropped almost to water level.
Tuesday night teams attempted to dig into Donaldson from an adjacent cave, to no avail. Another effort managed to drill into the passage from above.
Early on Wednesday rescuers in Donaldson were at the low ceiling when a light shone through brought a shout from Lazowski. The body recovery had turned back into a rescue! Lazowski was told to remain calm, conserve his energy and wait - the water was still too high. Voice contact was maintained using a bullhorn.
At around 5 p.m. Steve Collins was able to make it up through the low spot and get to Lazowski. Collins was on the other side of the stream from the victim and had to wait for a rope to be brought up. He then threw one end to Lazowski who wearily tied it to a rock on his side. As Lazowski was brought across the stream, the piton on the near side gave and both were swept away, Collins caught by the attachment on the far side, the victim by rescuers downstream.
Lazowski was fitted with a wetsuit top and helmet and hauled to the top of the crevice above the stream and passed via a tyrolean traverse to the entrance (8 p.m.). He was hospitalized for several days for hypothermia and dehydration but otherwise suffered only cuts and bruises. He had been trapped for 55 hours.
Let no one mistake the message here - Lazowski lived because he was determined to do so. With no food or water in a constantly hypothermiating situation for 55 hours and being chilled by his trip into the cave, there seems to be no physiological reason not to succumb to hypothermia. Yet he lived. Survival is not just a matter of knowing what to do, but also in being determined to do it - to persevere.
According to news clippings, Lazowski kept his mind occupied, kept thinking 'I can't let this cave beat me.' He began hallucinating and carried on a conversation with an imaginary companion, discussing the attributes of the New York and Indiana NBA draft choices. His leg "fell asleep" once and he banged on it for some time before regaining feeling. He was afraid to sleep but became very tired and must have dozed - when he did he would "wake himself and just scream - 'Help, I'm still here!'" But he never gave up.
Two cavers were caught in strong rapids within Donaldson/Bronson Cave resulting in one being injured and the other trapped for 55 hours before rescue.