12 people trapped in Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine in Teller County rescued

CRIPPLE CREEK MINE TOUR ACCIDENT
Hart Van Denburg/CPR News
A Divide Fire Department rescue vehicle leaves the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine near Cripple Creek in Teller County after 12 people trapped about 1,000 feet underground were rescued Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. One person is known to have died after what officials are calling an equipment malfunction.

Updated on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, at 8:43 p.m.

All 12 people trapped in a Teller County tourist mine 1,000 feet underground were rescued late Thursday evening. 

One person died and four people were injured in the initial accident, which happened around noon at the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine near Cripple Creek.

Officials called the accident an equipment malfunction with the mine’s elevator, which is about a two-minute ride and a 1,000-foot drop down into the earth. From there, tourists can walk about a quarter mile of underground terrain, according to the tour company’s website. Crews were able to get the elevator working, running it up and down the mine unmanned to make sure it was safe. The rescued victims were offered local hotel rooms to recover. 

Rescue crews considered sending a team down the mine shaft if they could not get the elevator to work. 

“I have good news,” Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell told a crowd of reporters after crews spent hours attempting to rescue the party of 12 adults, all from out of state.

Eleven others were rescued earlier in the day Thursday. That group included two children as well as the person who passed away.

“Anything like this, you want to get people to them as soon as possible, especially in a traumatic situation like this with children,” Mikesell said. “It's one of those things, you tear up a little bit when you are dealing with kids that have to go through these types of things. I'll tell you that's one of the things that tugs my heartstrings.”

“But they're safe, and that's all we can hope for right now,” he said. The children involved were given mental health services through the MAPS program and clinicians.

The mine did not collapse, contrary to rumors earlier in the day.

“I am relieved that 12 of the people trapped in the Mollie Kathleen Mine have been safely rescued,” Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement. “Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the individual lost in this incident.”

“I am saddened to learn of the loss of a life in this tragic accident and my heart goes out to the family and loved ones during this difficult time,” Polis said. 

CRIPPLE CREEK MINE TOUR ACCIDENT
Hart Van Denburg/CPR News
An ambulance leaves the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine near Cripple Creek in Teller County after 12 people trapped about 1,000 feet underground were rescued Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. One person is known to have died after what officials are calling an equipment malfunction.

It’s still unclear how the elevator malfunctioned or how the person died. They have not been identified nor have the four who were injured. 

“It’s a local family business,” Teller County Commission Dan Williams said. “You can imagine the victim was probably local as well.”

The governor intends to call the victim’s family. 

The last accident at the mine was in 1986 and also involved the elevator. In that situation, two people were trapped and no one was killed.

The original story below.


Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell said officials will first try to get the elevator to work. If necessary, “plan b” is to send a Colorado Springs Fire Department rescue crew down the shaft.  

“They're 1,000 feet down. That means it's a long rope trip right? If we have to, we can bring people up on those ropes,” he said. “But it also subjects those first responders to the danger of doing so, because you're dropping a long way in a tunnel right?”

“So, we wanna make sure the tunnel is safe. We want to make sure the shaft is in good order. We wanna make sure all those things are working well,” he said.

Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesel speaks during a press conference on an accident at the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine near Cripple Creek,
Dan Boyce/CPR News
Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesel speaks during a press conference on an accident at the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine near Cripple Creek, Colo. on Oct. 10, 2024, that left 1 person dead, 4 injured and 12 trapped.

Mikesell says crews are trying to keep those still trapped calm. One person stuck at the bottom of the elevator shaft is from the tour company and is also a former mine rescue personnel. According to Mikesell, no one in the remaining trapped group knows that anyone is dead or injured

“They really don't have an idea that we have more of an issue up top than what they're being told is the elevator,” he said. “And really that's because I want to keep people calm because I can't get them out until I can get something down there.”

CRIPPLE CREEK MINE TOUR ACCIDENT3
Hart Van Denburg/CPR News
Ambulance crews park and wait at the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine near Cripple Creek in Teller County as rescue personnel work to free 12 people who were trapped during a tour about 1,000 feet underground. One person is known to have died after what officials are calling an equipment malfunction.

The state also sent personnel and resources to help including a field manager from the Division of Homeland Security and a mine rescue team from the Department of Natural Resources. The State Emergency Operations Center was also activated.

“I have spoken to the Teller County Sheriff and County Commissioners and will stay in touch through the course of this rescue effort,” said Governor Jared Polis in a statement. “We will do everything possible and assist the county to ensure a speedy and safe resolution of the situation.” 

First responders block the entry to the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine
Dan Boyce/CPR News
First responders block the entry to the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine near Cripple Creek, Colo. on Oct. 10, 2024.

The Mollie Kathleen Mine was discovered in 1891. 

The mine has been conducting tours since the 1930s. And while mining operations shut down in 1961, the tours continued. Most recently they were offered seasonally, from May to mid-October and involved a one-hour walk. 

“The Molly Kathleen Goldmine tour is probably the best mine tour I've ever been on in the state of Colorado,” Heath Gay, a gold mine enthusiast, told CPR News. “And I have gone to multiple, multiple mine tours throughout the state over the years. It's absolutely fantastic. It is the only vertical shaft gold mine tour in the state, if not the nation.”

The red cage tourists go in to go down the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine.
Courtesy of Heath Gay
The red cage tourists ride in to go down the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine near Cripple Creek, Colo.

According to state documents, the mine tours have attracted visitors “worldwide” for daily tours between April and October. The operators told the state that the public can access the mine with traditional “cable lift mine shaft hoisting equipment.”

“It's cramped. You are packed in like sardines,” Gay said. “It's the longest two-minute elevator ride I've ever taken in my life. It's mostly in the dark. And you're really squished in there with quite a few folks.”

CRIPPLE CREEK MINE TOUR ACCIDENT
Hart Van Denburg/CPR News
The Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine near Cripple Creek in Teller County where rescue personnel are working to free 12 people who were trapped during a tour about 1,000 feet underground. One person is known to have died after what officials are calling an equipment malfunction.

“Mollie Kathleen's tour operation offers a rare glimpse into Colorado mining history,” the state documents read. “And, as a deep shaft tour operation is both rare, and particularly vulnerable to ventilation and other issues. Our tour level is an underground museum of Colorado mining history, mechanics and tools.”

In 2016, the tour’s operators wrote to state regulators about “structural stability” concerns because of an expansion of a larger mine nearby. The tour operator, Dewey-Dwight & Associates LLP, wrote the state Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety, to inform them “of existing issues regarding potential disruption to Mollie Kathleen mine safety and structural stability, which could be the unintended consequence of operations on neighboring or nearby grounds. These concerns focus on: ventilation, structural stability, control of airflow, and, above all, public safety.”

It’s unclear how those concerns were addressed, the state Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety has not returned requests for comment. CPR News reached out for comment from federal mining regulators, but we've yet to hear back.

“It's hard each time I ride that cage not to think about getting stuck or having to be rescued,” Gay said. 

CPR’s Bazi Kanani contributed reporting. 

Editor’s note: We have updated the dates tours began in the mine based on new information from state documents.