Skeleton Of Man Missing 17 Years Found In Cave

The skeleton of a wealthy service station owner has been found in a cave, 17 years after his disappearance. Police have ruled his death a homicide. An amateur cave explorer found the skeleton of Gary R. Simmons on Wednesday. The remains were clad in cowboy boots and decaying clothing. Simmons' driver's license was in the pants pocket. Gary Compton, a private investigator hired by the family, said he believed Simmons was killed because he planned to testify in a federal investigation of black market gasoline. Simmons was last seen alive in 1974. He was declared dead in 1981.

Source: Orlando Sentinel

Woman Rescued From Cave Says She Will Return In March

Emily Mobley, who spent four days trapped in the nation's deepest cave until her dramatic rescue, said she'll return to the New Mexico cave next year.

''If I am physically able to be, I hope to be back there next March,'' she told the El Paso Times in a telephone interview from her home in Schoharie, N.Y.

Mobley's left leg was broken March 31, when it was struck by a 90-pound boulder that dislodged when she grabbed it. She was 900 feet below the surface of Lechuguilla Cave when the accident happened. She still is using crutches.

Mobley, 40, was a member of a mapping expedition into the cave, which is in a wilderness area of Carlsbad Caverns National Park in southern New Mexico.

Source: Orlando Sentinel

Mapping Expedition Finds Cave Has Extra 2.6 Miles

A mapping expedition in which an explorer broke a leg deep below the Earth's surface discovered 2.6 more miles to Lechuguilla Cave, making it the eighth-longest in the world. At 56.9 miles, the cave jumped four notches from 12th in the world, Carlsbad National Park management assistant Bob Crisman said. The cave is the deepest in the United States at 1,565 feet and fourth-longest in the country. During the expedition Emily Mobley of Schoharie, N.Y., broke a leg and had to be rescued. After the rescue, the expedition resumed April 4, discovering 2.6 more miles of rooms and passages.

Source: Orlando Sentinel

5 Crawl From Cave After Being Trapped For Hours

Five people emerged wet, shivering but happy late Saturday after being trapped in a cave for about seven hours by a flash flood. The five spelunkers crawled out of Onesquethaw Cave to the cheers of about 100 rescue workers gathered around the cave's entrance. The five were taken to hospitals for observation, although officials at the scene said they appeared healthy. Authorities identified the spelunkers as Laura Selicaro, 20; Lynn Cowan, 22; Peter Bowie, 20; Scott Baisch, 22; and Nicholas Springer, 20, all members of the Syracuse University Outing Club. They were trapped in the cave when a beaver dam upstream of the cave's entrance burst.

Source: Orlando Sentinel