Accident in Texas

Tourist cave worker found dead after failing to return from inside

Web Posted: 04/30/2007 10:49 PM CDT

Vincent T. Davis
Express-News

Rescue workers found the body of a man in the Cave Without a Name on Monday several hours after he entered a passage and didn't return, authorities said.
At 9 p.m., workers found the location where the man, who was in his mid-40s, died, said Jeff Fincke, emergency management coordinator for Kendall County.

Workers were still trying to recover the body before 10 p.m. Authorities withheld the victim's name until his next of kin could be notified. Fincke said the cause of death was undetermined at the time.

The victim and another man, both employees at the tourist spot, went in the cave in the River Mountain subdivision to dislodge a blockage they suspected was causing slow water flow, Fincke said.

The victim went deeper into the cave than the other worker and they lost contact with each other, Fincke said. After more than 20 minutes without contact, the other worker notified emergency agencies.

More than 90 searchers from the South Texas Regional Advisory Council for Trauma, San Antonio Fire Department Technical Rescue Team and spelunkers specializing in special rescues took part.



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vtdavis@express-news.net
Staff Writer Zeke MacCormack contributed to this report.