New York Cave Rescue Takes Six Hours After Man Becomes Trapped in Underground Crevice
A Brooklyn man had to be rescued from Merlin’s Cave in the town of Canaan, New York, on May 17th after becoming stuck in a tight crevice approximately 400 feet from the entrance.
According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Forest Ranger Lieutenant Gullen responded to the scene at 9:16pm after the subject slipped into the crevice while crawling. The man was not injured but was wedged by his rib cage and pelvis and was beginning to show signs of hypothermia.
Ranger Gullen and fellow National Cave Rescue Commission team members arrived and worked to free the man, but the effort proved more difficult than expected. The team determined they needed a hammer drill to remove portions of surrounding rock before the subject could be extracted.
The rescue took six hours. Once freed, the man was able to exit the cave on his own power. All resources were cleared from the scene at 2:18am. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation released footage of a post-rescue interview with Lt. Gullen documenting the operation.
The incident serves as a reminder of the serious risks posed by cave exploration, particularly in tight or technical passages where even experienced crawlers can become trapped. Hypothermia is an additional hazard in cave environments, where temperatures remain cold year-round regardless of outside conditions.
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