Published: July 19, 2008 01:00 am            

Teen is rescued from Maquoketa Caves

By Samantha Sims Pidde

Herald Staff Writer

MAQUOKETA — A 16-year-old Wisconsin boy was trapped in Maquoketa Caves State Park for five hours last night before emergency personnel were able to get him freed.

A church group was traveling through the caves, including the 16-year-old boy. He was working himself through one of the passages and had made it approximately 150 feet when a problem arose.

“While manipulating a corner, he slipped into a crevasse and became pinned,” said Deputy Chief Jeff Moritz of the Maquoketa Fire Department. The boy became pinned at the ankles and the chest. A member from his group called in the emergency.

“The Maquoketa Fire Department and rescue squad worked for four hours to get him released,” said Moritz.

A specialty team from the Rock Island (Ill.) Arsenal and Rock Island and Moline (Ill.) area, that specializes in confine entrapments, also was called in for help.

While the rescue teams worked to get the boy released, they also provided him with supplies, such as blankets and oxygen. Moritz said that the rescue workers used a pneumatic air chisel to free the boy.

“We had to remove stone formations from around him to get him freed up,” said Moritz. He said that after the boy was out of the cave he was found to have a few minor bumps and bruises. However, Moritz said that their primary concern was the possibility of hypothermia. According to him, the caves stay at a constant 55 degrees.

“So we were in fear of his body temperature dropping too low, being wet and muddy,” said Moritz.

By 5:01 p.m., the boy was loaded up to be transported by air to a hospital in Dubuque.

        

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