Two men who got trapped inside a cave in East Tennessee were rescued after an hours-long recovery mission. Now, they are facing charges for the incident.
On Monday (February 28) night, the two cavers, Gabriel and Robby, got lost in an abandoned train tunnel under Lookout Mountain near Chattanooga, sparking a search and rescue mission that got the men out early Wednesday morning. The men's families realized something was wrong when they didn't return after setting out to explore caves Monday night, WTVC reports.
Around 4 a.m. Wednesday, the Chattanooga Fire Department made contact with the man, who were found in the farthest known part of the cave in a 300-foot crawl space called a gate.
"The cave was supposedly sealed by the railroad, I think they've had issues with it being dug out and entered," said Chris Warren, CFD Battalion Chief. "There was not supposed to be anybody in this cave."
After they were brought above ground, WTVC reporter Christy Calcagno shared a photo of the men "in good spirits." One of the men, Gabriel, said he was "in desperate need of a shower."
While the men and their families were happy to be reunited, the cavers are now facing criminal trespassing charges for being in the area in the first place.
"We do have a very big outdoor community here in Chattanooga and a lot of risk-takers," said Warren. "I think it was quite obvious to everyone that everybody involved knew that they were not supposed to be there."
According to the news outlet, steps will be taken to block the cave and ensure an incident like this doesn't happen again.