Dog owner exploring mine in Arizona desert when pup falls 100 feet into darkness
A dog owner was exploring a mining area in the Arizona desert when her dog fell 100 feet into darkness, rescuers said.
Instead of fetching the animal herself, the 39-year-old woman asked for help at about 1:30 p.m., July 7, near the Van Deeman Mine, west of White Hills, the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue said in a Facebook post.
Her 9-year-old heeler dog, Hailey, had accidentally fallen down an old mining shaft, rescuers said. She could see her dog moving at the bottom.
The woman also saw a wooden ladder leading down into the shaft, but she was hesitant to use it and waited for rescuers.
Rescue teams used a rope system to rappel into the mine shaft to retrieve Hailey, who was uninjured.
Hailey was put into a harness and taken to the surface of the mine where she was reunited with her owner, rescuers said.
Rescuers urged people to not explore mine shafts alone.
“Old mine shafts are inherently dangerous, particularly for those with limited experience or without additional support nearby,” rescuers said in the post.
White Hills is about a 70-mile drive southeast from Las Vegas.
