The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Rescue Service assisted the Chattanooga Fire Department and Chattanooga Police in searching for the two men who were last seen before they left to explore a cave at the base of Lookout Mountain.
The men were rescued early Wednesday morning. Gabriel Vaughn, 21, and Robby Dobos, 23, on Monday night set out to explore a cave that is closed to the public, and friends began to worry when they had not heard from either of the two the next day.
The missing men were found in the back section of the cave, uninjured but suffering from exposure, around 3:45 a.m. on
Wednesday morning by members of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Rescue Service (CHCRS).
The missing cavers were relatively familiar with the cave but under-prepared for the rigorous environment at the back of the cave in a section that is unmapped and relatively unexplored, cave officials said.
Deputy Chief Brad Tipton, said, “The missing parties navigated the low airspace crawl for over 600 feet where they were exposed to full immersion in 40 degree water for a prolonged period of time. Exposure to these conditions without a wetsuit or proper clothing most likely increased their disorientation and forced them to take shelter to survive. The parties' youth and endurance prevented them from succumbing to exposure and hypothermia.”
Members of the CHCRS Cave Team were organized into search, evacuation, and communications teams to safely and effectively search for and evacuate the lost men from the cave. This particular cave is multi-level, with 80 feet of vertical relief, that made it easy for Mr. Vaughn and Mr. Dobos to become disoriented and move approximately two miles deeper into the cave, which is the furthest point away from the entrance, officials said.
The search teams from Chattanooga-Hamilton County Rescue Service maneuvered through difficult areas during the cave rescue, including tight crawls flooded with water and low airspace. One of the CHCRS search teams was equipped with wet suits to search the submerged sections of the cave.
Deputy Chief Brad Tipton said, “CHCRS members located the parties beyond the low airspace crawl and quickly prepared them for travel under their own power. Additional CHCRS rescuers entered the cave to bring them food, water, and dry clothes.” Both of the missing men were able to follow rescuers out of the cave without additional incident. They were evaluated at the scene by Hamilton County EMS but refused to be transported to the hospital.
In addition to the agencies who reported to the scene led by the Chattanooga Fire Department were Chattanooga Police, Hamilton County Emergency Management, Hamilton County EMS, Hamilton County Sheriff Department Drone Team, and Hamilton County STARS.