DEER TRAIL, Colo. — Crews rescued an 18-year-old who was seriously injured when he fell down an abandoned missile silo north of Deer Trail Sunday morning.
The Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office said the fall happened around 3:30 a.m. near 82000 E. County Road 22. When rescue crews arrived, they talked to five teens who told them that three other teens were inside the silo. The group had gained access by crawling through a broken gate at the entrance of the silo, the sheriff's office said.
One of the teens had fallen about 30 feet and was injured, the sheriff's office said.
Around 6 a.m., the two uninjured people, who were staying with the victim, were rescued from inside the silo. Rescue crews reached the injured man around 6:30 a.m. and removed him from the silo around 8:30 a.m., the sheriff's office said. He was flown to the hospital with serious injuries.
Several agencies from the county assisted in the rescue efforts, including crews from Deer Trail, Sable-Altura, Agate and Bennett-Watkins.
Sable-Altura fire chief Rich Solomon and firefighter Travis Daniels were the ones to make contact with the victim. They both described the rescue as like nothing they had ever endured.
"There’s no light unless you bring it with you," Solomon, who has 34 years of experience, said. "Only can hear the person next to you. It’s wet. There’s stagnant water, twisted metal, collapsed concrete, seemingly endless tunnels of danger. It absolutely was stressful. At times, it felt like it was just us. In kind of a dark, dank labyrinth, just a mess. Try to keep track of all the turns you made. One to the left, turn to the right. That’s kind of what it felt like."
"There was a time we didn’t have communication with anyone for about 30 minutes or so," Daniels said. "So it's just me and my partner once we found the patient. I was able to get signal to one of the teams down there to relay what kind of equipment we needed, but I had to leave where I was to go about 100 feet to get a signal."
Fire crews said they spent about four hours inside the silo and traveled an estimated quarter mile inside before bringing the injured victim back to solid ground.
"We were dispatched at 3:30 and we had the injured party out between 8:30 and 9," Deer Trail fire chief Rich Loveless said.
Loveless was stationed in the command center during the rescue. He said the situation was no less stressful above ground, especially when communication was spotty and inconsistent.
"You feel separated every time you let go of the mic," Loveless said. "Knowing what the facility is here, communication was going to be an obstacle here and it was."
Firefighters echoed sentiments of relief when it came to getting everyone out of the silo.
"Big step accomplished," Daniels said. "Possibly life saved. A lot goes into it. Air, sun, no longer stuck down there. So it was good. Yes, for everyone."
The success of the rescue mission doesn't overshadow the dangers that came from trespassing on private property.
"The environment down there is unpredictable, dangerous," Solomon said. "It took us four hours to do something relatively safely. It’s not a place to explore. It’s history. Let it be history."
The sheriff's office said an 18-year-old who was inside the silo with the victim was given a summons for trespassing. The other teens were released to their parents, but they and the victim could also face charges, the sheriff's office said.
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