Man fought off snakes during mine-shaft ordeal
Man fought off snakes during mine-shaft ordeal
An accident two weeks ago left John Waddell at the bottom of a 100-foot mine shaft northwest of Phoenix. Before rescuers saved him two days later, Waddell had to deal with three rattlesnakes, two broken legs, one broken ankle and no food or water.
The rig slowly lowered John Waddell down into the deep darkness of the mine shaft.
For the past 20 years, the 60-year-old had explored the countless mine shafts that dotted his 100-acre property in western Maricopa County 90 miles northwest of Phoenix. He searched through each of the tunnels deep in the Earth for any signs of glimmering gold.
His records showed there might be
more gold hidden within the darkness of one particular shaft. The possibility of finding the mother lode was too strong to stay away, Waddell recounted during a press conference at Banner-University Medical Center Phoenix Sunday.
Waddell prepared his rig for the Oct. 15 expedition like he had hundreds of times before. He told a friend where he was headed and when he would be back before he embarked on a treasure hunt miles away from civilization.
The rig descended 10 feet, then 25 and 50. Suddenly, he lost control of the rope and the rig quickly descended through the darkness toward the ground 50-feet below.
Waddell reached for the rope as it rapidly slipped through the pulley system. The friction burned through his gloved right hand, the skin quickly ripped away from his exposed left hand.
His body slammed into the dirt. Waddell immediately knew he was hurt.
“As soon as I hit it, I saw my leg flip up,” he said. “My ankle went the other way.”
Waddell’s years as an EMT immediately kicked in as he wedged a stick inside of his right boot to set the leg. He crafted a makeshift splint for his ankle while he lay on the damp dirt.
Then, he found himself face-to-face with a foot-long Diamondback rattlesnake. He could barely see enough in the darkness to rip the stick out of his make-shift setting to beat the rattling snake to death.
Waddell tried to remain calm. He tried to force his body to stop shaking from the cold and the shock as he took stock of the 8-foot space. He didn’t have any water or food. There was nothing there but a few 55-gallon drums and some leftover barbed wire.
Then he felt something slither underneath his arm. He couldn’t see or hear the snake in the pitch black darkness, but he knew it was there.
“I felt the vibration from the rattler on my arm,” Waddell recounted flatly. “I waited until it was completely under my arm, grabbed it and threw it as hard as I could. I heard it hit the wall and I beat it.”
Two days passed. Waddell laid at the bottom of the deep hole with his broken body hunkered up against a forgotten piece of steel.
He yelled and screamed until his voice was hoarse and his throat was a desert. He popped the angry blisters on his hands and sucked out the fluids to try and quench his thirst.
He thought of death. He was certain no one would come looking for him.
“A lot of things were going through my head and if I stayed out there I knew I was going to die,” Waddell said.
The hallucinations began as the depression medication faded out of his system. Stringy black clouds filled the mine and the shadows turned into animals.
But the third snake was real. Waddell beat the 3-foot Diamondback with the stick just like he had with the others.
“Down there it’s either me or them, and I was going to make it out one way or another,” he said.
Then, there was the sound of a diesel truck crunching on the dirt 100 feet above.
The familiar voice of a friend asked if he was OK.
“I started crying because I knew I was going to get out of there,” Waddell said.
It took the Maricopa County Sheriff ’s Office rescue team three hours to extract Waddell from the remote mine shaft using an elaborate hauling system.
He was rushed to Banner-University Medical Center Phoenix where he underwent surgeries for two broken legs and a broken ankle.
“He has a very strong desire to get back to who he is and he’s a very strong person,” Dr. Cliff Jones, Waddell’s primary surgeon, said during Sunday’s press conference.
His daughter, Jennifer Fouche, told the crowd of reporters she knew her father was going to be fine as soon as she heard him recounting how he fought off the rattlesnakes.
Waddell was still using a wheelchair Sunday with a full-leg cast dominating his left leg. Jones said he expects Waddell will be able to walk again within the next few months.