15-year-old climber plunges 30 feet and gets trapped in Alabama cave, sheriff says
While exploring a cave in Alabama on a school trip, a 15-year-old boy climbing a wall fell about 30 feet — and set off an hourslong rescue effort, according to officials and a local news outlet.
Deputies responded to a call about the incident at Tumbling Rock Cave Preserve in Jackson County after 11 a.m. Jan. 14, Sheriff Rocky Harnen told McClatchy News.
“The call was made by one of the other students that ran out of the cave, and it took them some time to get out of there,” Harnen said.
He said the boy had fallen about 30 to 40 minutes before his classmates managed to make the emergency call. Then, the rescue — involving about 50 people — began.
A spokesperson for the Southeastern Cave Conservancy, Inc. — the organization responsible for the cave site — told McClatchy News several of the rescuers were volunteers who had skills in cave rescues.
When volunteer climbers and paramedics reached the boy, he was “unconscious and seizing” but soon regained consciousness, a local climber told WHNT.
At the time, rescuers believed the boy had broken wrists and a possible concussion along with cuts and bruises from his fall, Harden said. He was airlifted to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga for his injuries.
Harden said the boy is expected to fully recover from his injuries.
“(The Southeastern Cave Conservancy, Inc.) would like to wish the young man all the best in his recovery,” the spokesperson said. “SCCi would also like to thank the rescue squads and law enforcement officers who responded to the rescue call.”
Jackson County, Alabama, is about a 60-mile drive southwest from Chattanooga, Tennessee.
This story was originally published January 15, 2025 at 4:30 PM with the headline "15-year-old climber plunges 30 feet and gets trapped in Alabama cave, sheriff says."
