Oklahoma man dies in cave accident
Sad story about a man who died in a caving accident. Read on, and take care when exploring caves…
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FORT GIBSON, Okla. (AP) — Searchers have found the body of a 31-year-old missing hiker in a 10-foot-deep pool of water in a cave near Fort Gibson.
Cherokee County Undersheriff Jason Chennault says the body of Joseph Rolands was found about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, about 12 hours after the search began for Rolands. Chennault says Rolands had drowned.
Rolands’ family says he had experience exploring caves but had always returned from previous trips within 24 hours.
One of the men who helped search the cave, Jeremey Roberts of Oklahoma Task Force One, says the cave was about 100 acres in size with pillars about 50 feet wide located about every 100 feet or so.
He says that when a person is in the cave “even just 100 feet” there’s no point of light to give a person a point of relevance.
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Bob Doucette
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Comments
Good response, man. I’ve never done the type of caving you’ve done, but I know that any sort of outdoors activity done solo has risks. In caving, those risks are magnified. I hope people take that into consideration before going it alone in a cave.
Hey Johnny and Bob,
My name is Brandon. I just moved to OK and wass looking for some good spelunking. I have about 10 years experience. Any suggestions?
Thanks. And btw sad to hear about the man who died.
Bob, I read the above article and I noticed something very odd. It says he had experience exploring caves. An experienced caver would never go caving alone. I have been in many Oklahoma caves over the years. I have had lots of fun, and had some tough times. I have been stuck before where I had to work for 3 hours to back up 20 feet. I always spelunk with friends so someone can get or provide help if needed.
Water caves pose a whole different issue when exploring. I have been in caves where the water meets the cave ceiling, called a syphon. The longest syphon that we pushed in Oklahoma, was about 12′ long under water to get the the next room that had air. Again we never did this alone. We were mapping this paticular cave call Vickery Water Fall Cave. Very pretty, but also very dangerous if you do not have a team for help!
My heart goes out to the family and friends of Mr Rolands, but I believe this shows that safety is very important when exploring.
Johnny