This story appeared in The Daily Universe on Friday, August 19.
By Michael J. Koberlein
Rescuers recovered the bodies of four people Thursday that had been submerged in a water-filled tunnel in a cave on Y Mountain.
Victims include Scott K. McDonald, 28, Provo, J. Blake Donner, 24, Springville, Jennifer Lynn Galbraith, 21, Pleasant Grove area, and an 18-year-old female whose family has not yet been notified, Provo Police Sgt. Mark Troxel said.
A fifth explorer with the group, Joseph Ferguson from Reno, Nev., attempted to swim the tunnel but he couldn?t, so he waited by the waterhole entrance with a flashlight. After about an hour of waiting for his friends, he became concerned and called police at 6:25 a.m., Troxel said.
Officials said the five people entered to explore the cave around 3 a.m. and dropped into a waterhole about 4 feet deep, swam another 12?15 feet underwater toward another chamber where there is 2?3 feet of breathing space. The cave, known as Dead Man?s Cave, is located in a new subdivision where the old Seven Peaks golf course used to be on 1420 East Summit Drive.
Utah County Sheriff?s Lt. Dave Bennett said he thinks the explorers made it to the second chamber and were on their way back out of the cave when they died.
?If one of the victims drowned they could have prevented others from getting through,? he said.
Bennett, who was one of the rescuers to enter the cave, said the cave water didn?t seem to be cold, but he was wearing a wet suit, and hypothermia could have been a factor for the victims.
The rescuers took all precautions to avoid accidents, using gas and oxygen sensors, wearing wet suits and carrying supplied air in a small container, Bennett said.
They pumped out 6 inches of water before finding the first body in the tunnel and then continued to run the pump as the rest of the bodies in the tunnel were retrieved, he said.
The explorers were wearing shorts and sandals and were equipped only with a flashlight, he said.
Provo police Lt. Scott Finch said a rope is tied from the entrance of the waterhole through the tunnel to the cavern on the other side to help spelunkers get through the tunnel.
Apparently a lot of locals know about Dead Man?s Cave, but Finch said as far as he knows, officials did not know about it.
?It?s a very dangerous cavern,? he said. ?We want people to enjoy the mountain, but they should be properly trained and equipped.?
UVSC graduate Brian Lamprey, 29, has been through the cave tunnel by himself and said he had a close call.
On his way back through the tunnel, he said he swam past the entrance to the waterhole, and when he couldn?t find a way out, he started to panic.
?I thought, ?Am I going to die like this??? he said.
Luckily, he found the waterhole entrance without having to search for very long, he said.
It would be very easy for a person to get trapped in there if they let go of the rope, he said. After swimming through the tunnel, he said, the dirt starts swarming and a person wouldn?t be able to see, even with a flashlight.
The Provo Police Department trains each year for cave rescues, but this rescue was unique in that it involved water, Finch said.
The Provo police co-operate with the Orem Police Department for rescue equipment when Provo doesn?t have the necessary supplies, he said.
After this accident, officials are already talking about making the cave off-limits for other explorers, which is something being debated for the popular Nutty Putty Caves, he said.
Finch said Provo police have a lot of calls from all over Y Mountain for climbers who have fallen and hurt themselves, but not for cave accidents.
?We haven?t had a cave incident for as long as I?ve been here,? he said, ?and that?s more than 20 years.?
