Warnings Sent Out After Teen Rescued From Mine Shaft
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - A teen is recovering after he fell more than 100 feet down a mine shaft near Roxborough Park.
The area, which is blocked off by fences and "No Trespassing" signage, is filled with a partially active clay mine including several shafts. Authorities from multiple agencies, however, did not seem to know who owns the land on Sunday.
Rescue crews rushed to the emergency call for a 13-year-old boy who had reportedly been exploring with some friends when he fell to the bottom of a steep, 115-foot mine shaft.
"It's almost vertical, maybe 70 or 80 degrees," said Doug Hutchinson, Assistant Chief at West Metro Fire.
Hutchinson said that rescuers, who had trained there before, worked for about two hours to get the teen out.
"We had to do a high angle rope rescue to lower a rescuer in, retrieve the patient, and haul (him) back up to the top," Hutchinson told CBS4's Melissa Garcia.
Then, a Douglas County Search and Rescue team carried him down the hill where a helicopter airlifted him to Swedish Medical Center.
The mine shaft rescue was not the agency's first. In September of 2015, crews pulled a dog out of a nearby drop that extended nearly 200 feet below ground.
The fire authority was warning residents of the dangers and asking everyone to heed the posted warnings signs.
"When hiking or playing around in the foothills or the Front Range, if an area is fenced off with signage that says Do Not Enter, that's for a reason," Hutchinson said.
The teen's injuries were not life-threatening.
Deputies said no charges had been filed at this point.
Melissa Garcia has been reporting for CBS4 News since March 2014. Find her bio here, follow her on Twitter @MelissaGarciaTV, or send your story idea to mkgarcia@cbs.com.