Man battered by fall into narrow crevice survives overnight ordeal

TORONTO — It only took a few seconds, but with one misstep Seth Rowe was violently transported from a warm, Ontario day into a freezing claustrophobic hell.

Wedged in the dank confines of an underground crevice, the 30-year-old was barely able to move his battered, bleeding body. Because he was wearing only a T-shirt, his extremities quickly went numb from the sudden drop in temperature. And soon, unknown wildlife began to rustle around him in the darkness.

Above him was 20 metres of slick granite walls and — worst of all — a narrow “pinch point” only a few centimetres across. It made escape all but impossible.

“Ever put a ring on your finger and it won’t come off? That’s the same thing,” Rowe said Monday. “I was pretty screwed.”

The husband and father of two had been spending a Saturday exploring the caves of the Nottawasaga Bluffs Conservation Area, only a few kilometres from his home.

He was attracted by a slit in the forest floor. While he was tentatively shimmying in to take a look, a loose piece of granite gave way.

Rowe is more accustomed to tight spots than most. He is a plumber and pipefitter who works on energy and mining projects across Canada. As a skinny guy, he’s usually the first to be sent into disused oil tanks and crawl spaces.

“I’ve been in some pretty nasty spots in my scope of work,” he said.

This meant he could stay calm in confined spaces, and had the strength and emergency training to stay alive as long as he could.

Gilbert McInnis had come to Nottawasaga Bluffs to see the sunset when he heard a faint cry of “hello.”

The local Clearview Fire Department was first on the scene at 8:30 p.m., followed by firefighters from across Ontario. In the final push after dawn, there were hours of enduring the trapped man’s screams as his bare, swollen body was yanked to freedom through jagged, painfully narrow gaps in the ice-cold rock wall.