Man rescued in coal mine: Four-day ordeal was ‘terrible’
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Their faces covered in black soot, three adults safely rescued after several days in an inactive West Virginia coal mine were mobbed by loved ones in a teary reunion, then they thanked the crews that got them out.
The three walked out of an ambulance at a fire hall in Whitesville to the screams of relatives for a brief reunion Wednesday night before being taken to a hospital.
Cody Beverly told news outlets the four-day experience inside Elk Run Coal’s Rock House Powellton mine near Clear Creek “was terrible.”
“I’m with my family now. I’m fine,” he said.
Beverly later told NBC News “Anybody who was involved in searching for us, I just want to thank you with everything inside of me,” he said. “This is the biggest lesson I’ve ever learned in my life. This is a life-changing experience for me.”
“We appreciate every one of you guys,” said Kayla Williams, who also was among those rescued.
Williams’ father, Randall Williams, said she had gone into the mine in search of copper.
People in the region do “whatever they can do to make money if they ain’t got a job,” Randall Williams told CBS News .
Raleigh County Prosecutor Kristen Keller said Thursday the sheriff’s office is conducting a criminal investigation into the latest incident. She said the two offices began discussing potential charges when the search began Sunday.
Raleigh County Sheriff Scott Van Meter said Thursday the criminal investigation will focus on why the adults were in the mine and find out “what happened.” Van Meter hadn’t seen Randall Williams’ comments but said people trying to steal copper from West Virginia mines is “nothing new.”
Late last month crews abandoned their search at another West Virginia mine for a missing man suspected of stealing copper. Two other men who were arrested indicated the third man had gone inside a mine, but the search was called off after a team encountered unsafe conditions.