Crews rescue teenage boy who fell inside cave in Jackson County

JACKSON COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — Rescue crews say a school trip turned dangerous in seconds, and life flashed before the eyes of high school students.

“After he fell, some of the young men with him ran out as fast as they could to make a phone call,” Jackson County Sheriff Rocky Harnen said.

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And first responders answered that call.

The teenage boy fell 20 to 30 feet while on a school trip inside the caves at Tumbling Rock Preserve. His classmates, The sheriff said, were panicked, sprinting out of the cave to alert help.

Harnen said emergency crews received the call around 11 a.m. They immediately began the hours-long rescue mission upon arrival.

“He was quite a ways in the cave,” Harnen said. “So it takes a while to get there.”

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Climbers at the cave and paramedics were the first to reach the teenage boy. Walt Cochran, a local climber, said the boy was unconscious and seizing when they first got to him. He later regained consciousness. Paramedics began assessing his injuries while inside the cave.

Harnen said it took crews nearly an hour just to get to where the boy fell, but finding him was not the hardest part.

“When you transport them out through a cave, obviously it’s not something you can just put four people and walk out,” Harnen said. “You’re ducking and crawling and climbing up rocks.”

Harnen added that there were roughly 40 crew members inside the cave once the rescue was completed.

He adds that the boy suffered injuries to his arms and back, as well as a potential head injury. The teenager was transported by helicopter to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga.

“He seems to be stable at this time,” Harnen said. “He had had good care here at the scene.”

What started as a call to one, turned into a call to many. Harnen said multiple emergency response teams came to help, from Huntsville Cave and Rescue to Highlands Medical Center to the Scottsboro Jackson Co. Rescue Squad, upon others. All performing life-saving measures few know how to do.

“We’re not cavers,” Harnen said. “We’re law enforcement. So when we get to call, we depend on these folks. And most of them are volunteers. They come out here on their own time and save lives.”

News 19 is working with the sheriff to get the name of the teenage boy and his school.

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