The Rescue Site

The Rescue Site. Mammoth Cave National Park. , For 12 days volunteer work crews labored in 24-hour shifts under the lip of this rock ledge to sink a rescue shaft 60 feet to reach Floyd Collins. No contact with Floyd had been possible since a collapse on February 3rd. The work slowed due to the inability to use explosives or heavy machinery for fear of causing further collapse. Every inch of the shaft had to be shored up to protect those laboring with hand tools against stone. , On the morning of February 16th, a 12-foot lateral tunnel broke through to Floyd. He was found dead. , Floyd's body was eventually removed and Sand Cave soon fell silent again. But the story of Floyd Collins continues to be told in song, theatre, and film. Floyd Collins' entrapment did much to publicize the cave region of Kentucky and one year later, in 1926, the Southern Appalachian Commission would recommend that Mammoth Cave be added to the growing National Park System., (timeline aside:), February 10 - Military court of inquiry convenes in Cave City to clear up any suspicion of criminal efforts to block the rescue attempt, and to disprove rumors that Floyd's entrapment is a hoax., February 14 - Rescue shaft reaches 500 feet, and a lateral tunnel is begun., February 16 - Floyd Collins is found dead.