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Rescuers search for ATV riders suspected of entering abandoned Raleigh mine

Turd Fergusen

Turd Fergusen

Veteran Member
Bold Member!
When will they learn???

CLEAR CREEK —
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Officials suspect four people reported missing in Raleigh County may have entered an abandoned mine in Clear Creek, according to a news release from the Office of Miners’ Health and Safety Training.
MHST’s mine rescue team was called in to assist the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office with the search after an abandoned ATV the missing individuals were suspected to be riding was found near the entrance of Elk Run Coal Company’s Rock House Powellton Mine.
Four rescuers — two from MHST and two from Alpha Natural Resources, parent company of Elk Run Coal Company — entered the mine at 1 p.m. to begin a search.

No updates have been released.
According to records with the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the underground mine has been inactive for about two years.
On Nov. 29, MHST called off a rescue for a Wyoming County man suspected of going missing in a Boone County mine, after rescuers “encountered hazards that prevented them from safely continuing to explore the mine,” Samantha Smith, director of communications for the state Department of Commerce, said at the time.
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https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/...cle_c352938f-acd3-5237-b2aa-5b35d0493b7e.html
 
They should just post signs at the entrance.

"Abandon hope, all ye who enter here, because we won't be going in to save your dumb ass."

Please bill the rescue charges to the idiots or their estate.
 
Reminds me of the pikeys in England who robbed a fancy leather garment store of £1000s of coats and escaped on the train tracks in ATVs. And were run over by a maintenance locomotive because their ATVs were so loud they never heard the disaster approaching.
 
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What were they hoping to find is what I want to know? If its abandoned then I would think anything good or valuable is long gone.
 
Ok so as a WV resident I can offer a little more info.

First off most likely if they were looking for anything it was copper wire. Usually they pull it out but maybe not if they were in a rush. They may have also been just exploring. Both of which are pretty stupid as coal mines are like giant mazes. If they do room and pillar method the whole place is a giant grid so it would be extremely easy to get turned around and mixed up.

Second, when they "seal" a mine they really don't do much more than cinder block the entrance, so anyone with a little time and a sledgehammer can get in. I'd imagine with this thing happening more frequently they'll pass some legislation to make the seals a little more permanent.

The entrance would look like this:
monongahela-river-coal-mine.jpg
 
Muriel Schwenck said:
Lost Dutchman Mine
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Don Miguel Peralta discovered a rich vein of gold in the Superstition Mountain, east of Phoenix, in the 16th century. Eventually, the Apache ran him out. Ever since, people have turned up sporadic quantities of ore every few years.

Around the turn of the 20th century, Jakob Walz (or Walzer) cashed in some amount of gold that he said he'd recovered within Superstition Mountain. He died of pneumonia after getting caught in a flood, and thinking he was ten feet tall and bulletproof he never told anybody exactly where the mine was because he expected to arise from what turned out to be his death bed and bring more riches back with him.

Nobody knows if he found an Apache cache or if he found the mine itself. What is certain, though, is people have died looking for that mine. They died of thirst, of disease, of accident, and of violence. As far as I am concerned during daylight, that cursed gold can lay out there in the desert and rot. At night, though, sometimes it calls me.

--Al
 
Turd Fergusen said:
.pass some legislation to make the seals a little more permanent.

monongahela-river-coal-mine.jpg
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Fuck that. Locks only keep out honest people. A cinder block wall and a keep out sign are good enough for reasonable people. It's not the government's job to mandate a barrier so strong it keeps the worst element away. And if they insist on trespassing into a dangerous spot, they are on their own.
 
UPDATE: One man exits Raleigh coal mine safely, search underway for additional three
CLEAR CREEK, W.Va. (WSAZ/ AP)-- UPDATE 12/10/18 @ 10:50 p.m.
West Virginia Governor Jim Justice is on his way to a coal mine in Raleigh County, where a rescue operation is underway.

Governor Justice said one of four men lost inside the mine since Sunday was able to get out safely on his own, and now rescue efforts are underway to retrieve the other three.

The man who was able to escape tells rescuers the other three are in a part of the mine with a pocket of good air, but it's about 1,000 feet deeper than the rescuers have gone so far.

Governor Justice said, "If there's any way on this earth to rescue these guys, we're going to do it."

We'll keep you updated on this developing story.

UPDATE 12/10/18 @ 2:35 p.m.
A West Virginia National Guard team is assisting in the search for four people reported missing at an underground coal mine in Raleigh County, the Guard reports on Monday.

The team is made up of six soldiers and three Humvees.

That team will provide support to teams with Miner’s Health, Safety and Training (MHS&T) who have been looking for the missing four. The National Guard team will provide assistance with equipment and personnel movement from the staging area to the mine entrance.

The search is underway at Elk Run Coal Co.’s Rock House Powellton Mine near Clear Creek.

The Raleigh County Sheriff's Office says that an abandoned ATV the four were believed to be riding was found near the mine entrance that was sealed at one time.

Full Article:
https://www.wsaz.com/content/news/Rescue-team-searching-for-four-missing-in-coal-mine-502300691.html
 
Search expands for 3 missing at West Virginia mine
CLEAR CREEK — Workers are removing water and pumping fresh air into a nonoperational coal mine in Raleigh County as they search for three people stuck inside.
The West Virginia Office of Miner’s Health, Safety and Training said Tuesday that a man who emerged on his own from the underground Rock House Powellton Mine provided details about the location of the three, who he said were alive.

Full Article:
https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/...cle_eb293d2a-8d5b-518b-921e-20093ad6c520.html
 
I wouldn't waste the time or resources looking for anybody that willingly went into something like that. All they're doing is putting innocent lives at risk looking for the morons
 
If I did I would make it known that it was begrudgingly. They'll probably be doing something equally as stupid within months of their rescue. Certainly, if they get in a situation again I wouldn't bother.
 
I wonder what circumstances are different from the case last week where they were looking for that guy that went into the coal mine and they called off the search after a day or so.
 
Turd Fergusen said:
I wonder what circumstances are different from the case last week where they were looking for that guy that went into the coal mine and they called off the search after a day or so.
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The circumstances are the level of danger to the rescue team.
They can pump in air and pump out water without endangering rescue people who are often volunteers.. After those initial precautions, if it is safe for the rescuers, they csn go in. Key word: volunteer
 
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The fuck?

Did these idiots fall or were they stupid enough to think itd be fun to go DEEEP mine exploring. You dont simply get lost and accidentally travel down 1000+ feet into the depths of a mine.

And why did one guy leave on his own? The others injured so they sent him in hopes for help? These idiots decide to split up to find a way out?

Suspicious
 
Wouldn't you avail yourself of technology instead of just going in blind. Take your GPS and a locator beacon. Whatever they cost would be worth the money, because I'll bet it's cheaper than possibly having to pay for your rescue. If you're going to be a thrill seeker, be smart about it.
 
There's only so much you can do to protect people from their own stupidity, and the more you do so the more they expect it.
 
I guess it runs in the family.........

Man rescued from mine is son of prisoner convicted of multiple mine break-ins

RALEIGH COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Three people are alive and safe after being trapped underground for about four days, but WSAZ has obtained dozens of court records that show at least one of those people probably should have known better. His father is in prison for committing the same crime in multiple counties.

There is no denying the relief and happiness loved ones are feeling after the safe return of three people who were trapped in an abandoned mine in Raleigh County. On the other hand, the reality of life is that the trio could face criminal charges now. Entering an abandoned mine is illegal in West Virginia.

Erica Treadway, 31, Kayla Williams, in her 20s, and Cody Beverly, 21, were rescued from the Rock House Powellton Mine near Clear Creek late Wednesday night. They were trapped inside of a mine that stretches across both Boone and Raleigh counties.

Investigators found out about the dire situation when a fourth person, Eddie Williams, 43, safely came out of the mine on his own Monday night. He told officials that the others had been lost since Sunday.

Family members told reporters that the group went into the mine to steal copper.

https://www.wsaz.com/content/news/M...ted-of-multiple-mine-break-ins-502726921.html
 
Then they should also go to jail for it. One would like to think they'd stay off meth after a lengthy sentence, but I think most addicts go right back to their old lifestyle when they get out. I don't know what the actual stats would be.
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Then they should also go to jail for it. One would like to think they'd stay off meth after a lengthy sentence, but I think most addicts go right back to their old lifestyle when they get out. I don't know what the actual stats would be.
 
I'm in the middle of good and silver country. Gold Canyon is 5 miles from me, then Silver City, Gold Hill, and Virginia City. The landscape is pockmarked with prospects and mines. Idiots trespass all he time. It's a deadly hobby.
 
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