An experienced caver was on a guided tour when he became trapped in Merlin’s Cave in the town of Canaan, Columbia County. On Sunday night, May 17 at about 6-7 pm, while crawling about 400 feet from the cave entrance, a Brooklyn man slipped into a tight crevice at what is known as the “Bear Trap.”
He was not injured but was wedged by the rib cage and pelvis and suffering hypothermia in the 50 degree temperature and near 100% humidity of the cave. Three of other cavers were with him in the cavern.
NYS Forest Ranger Lt. John Gullen and other National Cave Rescue Commission team members arrived a little after 9 pm and attempted to remove the man from his entrapment.
After 20 minutes crawling to him in the tight space, they determined they needed a hammer drill to remove some of the rock.
Once free around 1 am Monday, after being trapped for six hours, the man exited the cave on his own. The rescue mission ended around 2:15 am.
Merlins Cave Preserve is a 35-acre protected karst area on private property managed by the Northeastern Cave Conservancy. is not open to the general public.
The property contains Merlin’s Cave, Dragon Bones Cave, Dome 12 Cave, and numerous active sinkholes. It is widely recognized as the longest mapped marble cave system in New York State and the broader Northeast region
You can watch an interview with Lt. Gullen about this rescue here.
The last confirmed fatality involving recreational caving/spelunking in New York State occurred on February 26, 2001.
He became wedged between rocks, exhausted his air supply before rescuers could free him, and his body was recovered two days later.
Photos, from above: Members of the Northeastern Cave Conservancy in Merlin’s Cave Lower Loop (undated photo courtesy the Conservancy); and cave rescue photos provided by DEC.
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