CRIPPLE CREEK, Colo — A 46-year-old man who was an employee of the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine has been identified as the person killed Thursday when there was a malfunction of the elevator that travels 1,000 feet underground.
Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell on Friday identified the man as Patrick Weier. He's a resident of the area and leaves behind a 7-year-old child.
"My feelings are that he was attempting to make everybody safe, I don't know what occurred though," Mikesell said. "All I know is that he was a good man and he loved his job."
Weier was killed when there was an issue with the doors of the elevator around noon Thursday.
"We know that there was some type of incident with the doors and at that point something went wrong – we don't know what caused that – we don't know how it happened," Mikesell said. "All we know is that something occurred at that 500-foot level."
The sheriff said it's challenging because there are no cameras down there and it can't be seen from the ground level. Eleven people, including two children, were in the elevator at the time. Four of them suffered minor injuries. All of those people were brought back up in that same elevator.
A dozen others, including one tour guide, were trapped at about 1,000 feet underground for six hours before they could be rescued. During their ordeal none of them – not even the guide – were told what happened. Mikesell said that was part of an effort to keep them safe.
"We knew that we couldn't get anybody down to them, we couldn't get to them if there was a medical emergency," he said. "You're at 1,000 feet, and there is no way up until we get the elevator up and running – other than to lower a rope with somebody on a ropes team to bring up everybody one at a time."
First responders worked into the evening along with mine safety crews to put together a plan that worked to bring the people back up to the surface safely with the elevator, the sheriff said. The mine owner was on the scene to help crews make sure the elevator was working properly to bring the people up to the surface.
While trapped underground at the bottom of the tunnel, first responders were able to get them chairs, blankets and water and were able to communicate with crews above ground.
Mikesell said engineers inspected the elevator to determine what malfunctioned and to make sure it was operating safely to bring the people back up. If not, Mikesell said, other contingency plans were in place.
The elevator was sent down empty and returned to the surface safely around 6:08 p.m. After that success, an inspector descended into the mine and brought back the first four people to the surface, the sheriff's office said. The last people were brought up to the surface shortly after 7 p.m.
They were provided pizza and then briefed by the sheriff and others about the seriousness of the incident.
"We said 'Listen, you're going to turn on your phones in the next few minutes, you're going to be on stage in front of the national media.' They had no idea what was going on because no one has even turned their phone on yet for them to start going crazy," Mikesell said. "We explained to them that someone had died on the trip up prior to them, that this was a major incident, this wasn't just their belief that the elevator was broken. I think that was a very sobering experience for them."
Cripple Creek city officials arranged hotel rooms in town for the 12 people rescued.
Both OSHA, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and the Teller County Sheriff's Office are investigating the incident.
After learning of the rescue, Gov. Jared Polis released the following statement:
“I am relieved that 12 of the people trapped in the Mollie Kathleen Mine have been safely rescued. Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the individual lost in this incident. I thank Teller County and Sheriff Mikesell and his team, as well as the other law enforcement and first responders from local and state government for their swift response and tireless efforts, including members of the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Labor and Employment, and the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Thanks to this collaborative effort, each of these individuals will return home safely,” the statement reads.
Polis' office said Thursday that the state had personnel on site to provide support to local authorities. A field manager from the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management was there, the State Emergency Operations Center was activated and supporting resource requests, a mine rescue team from the Department of Natural Resources, and the Department of Labor and Employment had a conveyances inspector on scene. Department of Natural Resources Executive Director Dan Gibbs also arrived at the mine.
The attraction's website says "the Mollie Kathleen is an authentic 1890s gold mine" and visitors can "descend 1,000 feet underground."
The gold mine was set to close for the season this weekend.
