Overview
- William Floyd Collins became trapped on January 30, 1925 in Kentucky’s Sand Cave when a falling rock pinned his left ankle about 55 feet underground.
- He remained conscious for days and spoke with early responders, including young Jewell Estes and his brother Homer, who delivered food and water.
- A surge of reporters, officials, volunteers and large crowds turned the rescue site into a media attraction that added strain to the already unstable cave.
- Early strategies failed and, after collapses on February 4 sealed the passage, miners dug a vertical shaft that was slowed by rain, mud and loose soil.
- Rescuers reached the site on February 16 and found Collins dead; his body was initially left, later stolen and displayed, and not finally interred until 1989, while journalist “Skeets” Miller’s in-cave interview won a Pulitzer Prize.