Exploring Uncharted Territory Gone WRONG | Wildcat Cave Incident
Summary
TLDRIn 1965, 16 youths from an orphanage embarked on a caving trip to Wildcat Cave. Morris, eager to lead the group, made a wrong turn into an unexplored passage. Wedging himself into a tight crevice, he tumbled headfirst into a 9-inch crack, pinning his body. What followed was a perilous 25-hour rescue mission. With over 200 workers gathered, rescuers used various innovative strategies to free Morris. After slipping multiple times, the exhausted boy was finally pulled free by an Eagle Scout. The crowd erupted into cheers, though the cave entrance was later sealed. This harrowing tale evokes the 2009 Nutty Putty cave tragedy, where wrong turns proved fatal.
Takeaways
- 😟 Morris Bold, a 16 year old boy, became trapped in a narrow crevice while exploring Wildcat Cave in 1965, triggering a 25 hour rescue mission
- 😲 The cave had never been fully mapped or explored before. Morris made a wrong turn down a tight passage, becoming wedged upside down in a 9 inch crack
- 🤔 Morris was disoriented in the darkness, mistaking the downhill passage for the route to a larger chamber believing he was close to an exit
- 😨 Unable to move and struggling to breathe, Morris called desperately for help. Rescuers faced immense difficulties reaching and freeing him
- 😓 Over 200 emergency workers gathered to save Morris. The story became national news with appeals for rescue ideas from the public
- 👩⚕️ Nurse Evelyn Pettit comforted Morris for hours in the tight space. Many other volunteers offered help but couldn't reach him
- 🛠 Rescuers tried various equipment and techniques - pulleys, hooks, ropes, lubricant - but progress pulling Morris out was painfully slow
- 🙏 With time running out, 15 year old Eagle Scout Michael Ritch squeezed in and secured a rope for Morris to grip, enabling the final rescue
- 👏 After over 24 grueling hours stuck upside down, Morris was finally extracted from the crevice to cheers from the huge gathered crowd
- 😥 Tragically demonstrating the dangers of cave exploration, the Wildcat Cave entrance was later dynamited closed, like Nutty Putty Cave
Q & A
What was the name of the cave where Morris got trapped?
-Morris got trapped in Wildcat Cave located in the Hinckley Reservation in Whip's Ledges.
How did Morris end up getting trapped in the cave?
-Morris made a wrong turn while trying to find his way to a large chamber in the cave. He entered a tight crevice where he became pinned and unable to move.
How long was Morris trapped in the cave before being rescued?
-Morris was trapped in the cave for over 25 hours before being successfully rescued.
What made the rescue attempts so challenging?
-The narrow passages, sharp bends, and limited visibility inside the cave made it very difficult to access and reach Morris. The rescuers also had to be cautious not to get trapped themselves.
Who was the nurse that comforted Morris while he was trapped?
-Evelyn 'Pinky' Pettit, a 85lb nurse from Akron drove to the cave and spent nearly 3 hours comforting Morris while rescuers prepared to pull him out.
What was the final successful rescue method used?
-15-year old Eagle Scout Michael Riich was able to get close and throw a rope to Morris. He then poured glycerin solution to lubricate Morris's hips and inserted a support board to reduce friction while pulling.
How similar was Morris's experience to that of John Edward Jones?
-Both Morris and John made wrong turns inside unmapped cave systems, became pinned in tight spaces alone, and required complex rescue missions lasting many hours.
What happened to Wildcat Cave after Morris was rescued?
-The Park Service dynamited the back of Wildcat Cave hours after Morris was freed, similarly to how the entrance of Nutty Putty Cave was sealed with concrete after John Jones died.
Why was Morris still alive after being trapped for 25+ hours?
-The 60 degree angle of the crevice allowed sufficient blood flow and prevented Morris from quickly dying compared to steeper angles.
How did the Morris incident impact cave exploration safety?
-The dangers of underground passages were clearly exhibited, etching the need for preparation, caution, and safety measures when cave exploring to prevent future tragedies.
Outlines
😨 The harrowing tale of Morris trapped in a cave
In 1965, 16 youths went on a field trip to explore Wildcat Cave. Morris eagerly led a group into the cave but took a wrong turn into an uncharted passage. He slid into a narrow crevice, pinning his hips and body. Unable to move, he called for help. Rescuers tried various methods to free him but faced difficulties due to the cave's tight spaces. The rescue mission dragged on as anxiety grew. Nurse Evelyn provided comfort while rescuers prepared new strategies. After over 24 hours trapped, a team rigged a pulley system and poured glycerin to finally pull Morris free.
😰 A difficult 25-hour rescue mission
As Morris was trapped, he experienced breathing issues from pressure on his chest. In the darkness, fear gripped him as he begged to be saved. Fire chief Paul led emergency responders who provided light and oxygen. However, narrow passages made access challenging. Each maneuver was executed cautiously amid risks of injury. Various ideas were ruled out like drilling or dynamite. As temperatures dropped, over 200 gathered outside, appealing for community help. Experienced caver Terry proposed a pulley but it initially failed to budge Morris. The main concern was Morris losing consciousness, leaving no way to pull him out.
🥳 Morris rescued after a clever pulley system is deployed
In a last ditch attempt, a team flew in a rescue squad. They sent scout Michael, the only one small enough, into the crevice. He provided comfort and used glycerin and a board to reduce friction. On cue, the team tugged Morris free as cheers erupted. After over 24 anguishing hours, he was finally rescued. Had the crevice been steeper, less time would've been available. Learning its lesson, the cave entrance was later dynamited and sealed, only for history to repeat in 2009 with the harrowing Nutty Putty cave incident.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Cave
💡Trapped
💡Rescue
💡Darkness
💡Obstacles
💡Fear
💡Communication
💡Coordination
💡Caution
💡Escape
Highlights
Morris made a wrong turn in an unmapped cave, getting stuck in a tight crevice in 1965
Morris volunteered eagerly to lead cave exploration due to previous experience, but got overconfident
In the darkness, Morris crawled into a downhill passage, tumbling into a tight 9-inch crack
Unable to move and alone, Morris called for help but his friends didn't initially realize the danger
A teacher tried to pull Morris out with a belt but couldn't reach him without getting stuck too
Over 200 emergency workers gathered to rescue Morris as the story became national news
Rescue attempts faced difficulties like narrow passages, limited visibility, and risk of cave-ins
A nurse comforted Morris for hours in the tight space as rescuers prepared new rescue plans
After 24 hours with little progress, rescuers only had one attempt left before Morris lost consciousness
A scout poured glycerin and wedged a board under Morris to reduce friction for pulling him out
After firm tugging Morris broke free over 24 hours after getting trapped, as crowds cheered
If the crevice was steeper, Morris likely wouldn't have survived long enough to be rescued
The cave entrance was later dynamited shut to prevent future accidents
A similar tragedy occurred in 2009 when Jon Jones died in the Nutty Putty cave rescue attempt
The lessons from Morris's experience failed to prevent the Nutty Putty incident 44 years later
Transcripts
in a recent video we recounted a
harrowing tragedy involving Jon Edward
Jones at nutty putty cave in
2009 Jon's misadventure began when he
took a wrong turn leading him into a
perilous narrow passage where he became
trapped in darkness however what many
don't realize is that Jon wasn't the
first to confront such desperation here
at the faculty of Truth we uncover
another captivating story from 1965
featuring Morris bold whose experience
mirrors John's similar to nutty putty
cave incident Morris made a wrong turn
finding himself wedged in a tight
crevice with no Escape What followed was
a gripping 25-hour Rescue Mission
forever etching the dangers of
underground exploration into
history on a crisp autumn morning in the
vast Park the perfect setting for an
outing 16 youths and three teachers from
the Methodist Children's Home in Berea
embarked on a plan trip on October 5th
1965 to Shon Brun Village in tuscaro
West County however an unfortunate flat
tire incident on the way compelled them
to alter their course quick thinking and
improvisation LED them to the Hinkley
reservation home of Wildcat cave in
Whip's Ledges as the group approached
Wildcat cave a palpable sense of
anticipation and excitement hung in the
air Morris in particular couldn't
contain his enthusias M for exploring
the cave although he and his friends had
visited the cave on previous field trips
this time the experience was destined to
take an unexpected turn the cave had
never been officially mapped or
thoroughly explored so we reconstructed
the internal passages based on the
stories and archival documents available
Wildcat cave nestled in a Sandstone
Cliff boasted an entrance 15 ft wide and
4 ft High resembling a dark Jagged mouth
while the exterior and its surroundings
were popular among locals the interior
harbored a fascinating history over the
years the cave had served as a refuge
for criminals and runaway slaves
cultivating a legend that added to its
Aura of mystery and unease entering the
cave one would encounter a narrow
passage roughly 80 ft long known as the
main tunnel at its Terminus an opening
revealed a large leaning rock that
dominated the space continuing straight
from this point the passage led to a
sizable chamber believed by local
tradition to have been a 19th century
hiding place for escaped slaves on route
to Canada it was easy to confuse this
passage with two others around the
Leaning Rock especially without proper
lighting and previous experience inside
the cave since no one had explored these
passages before they remained Uncharted
the group of three decided to descend
into the cave and explore a welln known
chamber Morris volunteered to lead the
group eager to Showcase his previous
experience navigating the main tunnel
however his confidence soon dwindled as
he realized his past encounters had not
prepared him adequately for what lay
ahead initially walking inside the main
tunnel creates a comfortable environment
with enough space to maneuver after
around 60 ft though the tunnel begins to
shrink requiring explorers to move in a
squatting position upon reaching the
crossing Morris noticed a large Rock and
assumed that the passage to the large
chamber followed its curvature with no
one questioning his decision to proceed
forward he forged ahead as Morris
entered the crevice the room for
maneuvering decreased exponentially
forcing him to crawl on his stomach
claustrophobia gripped him as the cave
enveloped him in darkness but Bates
remained convinced that the opening to
the large chamber lay ahead just a few
few more feet away inch by inch he began
to feel pressure around his torso and
hips what Morris didn't realize in the
darkness of the squeeze tunnel was that
he was crawling downwards the human body
relies on the vestibular apparatus to
determine its balance and position
without enough visual information such
as in darkness balance can be affected
as the eyes gather information about
orientation from the environment pushing
harder and harder Morris found himself
in a situation similar to JN Edward
Jones where the downhill path led to a
sharp angled crevice the 110lb 5'7 boy
slithered into the damp slippery Fisher
and tumbled head first into a 9in crack
pinning his hips and body eager to
escape the confines of the orphanage and
enjoy Carefree moments with his friends
Morris found himself grappling with the
consequences of his choices the cave
once r rumored to be an exciting place
to explore had now become a potential
grave for him as he navigated narrow
passages and turned in tight spaces his
body became covered in cuts and
scratches the critical moment arrived
when Morris realized he was alone in the
depths of the cave he couldn't budge
unable to move he called to his two Pals
for help but it took some time for the
boys to comprehend the dire situation
and understand where the desperate
scream was coming from out of fear they
raced to get a teacher who squeezed into
the cave and tried to use his belt to
lasso the boy's ankle the teacher
couldn't get close enough to Morris
afraid of getting stuck as well once he
reached the safest Zone he threw the
belt onto Morris's feet and started
pulling success seemed to lighten up but
it ended quickly when the belt broke and
Batel wedged deeper into the crevice at
this point Morris started experiencing
difficulty breathing due to the outer
pressure on his chest in the darkness
and cold the teacher could hear fear and
panic into Morris's voice as he begged
him to find someone else to save him the
teacher immediately called for
professional help the first on the scene
was fire chief Paul chodura who led a
squad to Wildcat cave firefighters
installed a portable generator to light
the cave and Cruz piped oxygen to the
boy they decided to use a pulley system
with hooks but the rescue attempts faced
significant challenges the Topography of
the cave presented unpredictable
obstacles with narrow passages and sharp
bends making access difficult Morris was
trapped a considerable distance from the
entrance further complicating efforts to
reach him limited visibility and
claustrophobic conditions inside the
cave added another layer of difficulty
to the rescue each maneuver was executed
with caution considering the con Stant
risk of injury to The Rescuers and the
potential for worsening Morris's
situation combining tactical skill and
impressive Courage The Rescuers explored
various strategies to free Morris from
his precarious position contractors
offered to drill through 36 ft of stone
but geologists feared a cave in Dynamite
was ruled out as well the Dilemma
dragged into the night and anxiety grew
among both The Rescuers and the helpless
onlookers watching the situation from
outside the cave the temperature dipped
into the 30s as more than 200 emergency
workers Spectators relatives and
reporters gathered at the scene the
story of the trapped kid became Front
Page News across the country and the
subject of national television programs
radio broadcasts appealed for help from
the community prompting Evelyn pinky
Pettit a 5'2 85lb nurse from akan to dve
drive to the cave and wriggle into the
passage she could get no closer than 5
ft but spent nearly 3 hours comforting
the boy while Rescuers prepared a new
method to pull Morris out one of the
methods was proposed by experienced cave
Explorer Terry Brown of akan who
suggested rigging an impromptu pulley
instead of hooks with a metal ring
spiked to the roof of the cave Rescuers
pulled and tugged but bold moved only a
few inches only to be pushed backward
once the pulley released the main
concern of The Rescuers was Morris's
Consciousness if the boy passed out
there would be no method to pull him out
without his own effort all these nuances
bring to mind the Nutty putty cave
tragedy rescue mission that ended the
moment Jon Jones passed out pulling the
body from the crevice using different
methods takes only 80% and the remaining
20% must always be filled with the
victim's pushing efforts all night long
Rescuers kept trying to cheer up the boy
they asked if he had a girlfriend they
promised him a steak dinner they made
him count to 25 and Back Again dozens of
individuals offered assistance but many
couldn't get close enough after entering
the cave it's been more than 24 hours
and at this point Rescuers were left
with only one attempt as Morris's
answers became more and more vague and
time was running out in the morning the
US Air Force flew a team from The
National spical Society in Washington DC
machinist Curtis pek and his Uncle Paul
PE devised a plan and to execute it they
sent 15 years old Eagle Scout Michael
riich of North Royalton who squirmed
into the crevice he was able to get
closer to Morris than anyone else had
before Michael threw a rope to Morris
and he was able to pull it over his arms
as rri later told reporters Morris lay
on his right side and could only use one
arm
according to Michael it was pretty tight
and scary in there he was instructed to
use a glycerin Solution by pouring it on
Morris's hips to make them slippery
after which he pushed a narrow support
board under Morris's legs to create less
friction once pulling started with
Michael's command the team started
pulling Bates old slipped a few times
but with firm tugging from above he
broke free hearty cheers arose as the
boy was wrapped in a blanket and lifted
out of the passage more than 24 hours
after the ordeal began hundreds of
Spectators applauded as the kid was
loaded into a waiting ambulance
fortunately the position of the boy was
around 60° which helped him stay alive
for such a long period of time if the
crevice had been steeper Morris wouldn't
have had as much time until Rescuers
figured out the best method to pull him
out the Park Service dynamited the back
of Wildcat cave hours after bite old was
freed similarly with nutty putty cave
the entrance was permanently sealed with
concrete the lesson was learned for the
next 44 years until it all repeated
again but this time with a horrible
ending
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