A UVA student died in a spelunking accident in Utah this morning. He was trapped 150 feet underground for 28 hours. (Via) #
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Sideblog
Police announced this afternoon that their investigation into what was initially believed to be a fatal fire on Rugby Avenue is now a homicide investigation. #
The Virginia Supreme Court has denied George Huguely’s appeal. His second-degree murder conviction will stand, WRIC reports. #
In a carefully worded story, and not citing specific sources, WTVR reports that forensic evidence belonging to Jesse Matthew Jr., the main suspect in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, matches forensic evidence collected during the investigation of Morgan Harrington’s 2009 murder. #
In the wake of Hannah Graham’s disappearance, and the evidence that came from private security footage, city officials are revisiting the question of installing security cameras on the downtown mall. #
Both Charlottesville Registrar Sheri Iachetta and former Electoral Board member Stephanie Commander have turned themselves in to the police on
foursix and four felony counts of embezzlement, respectively. #Ten years ago, the National Institutes of Health budget doubled and schools like the University of Virginia built massive new research facilities. A decade later, those buildings remain largely underutilized. NPR visits UVA in this story on the effect of federal binge and spurge spending in the sciences. #
In 2012, Council approved a new student housing complex on West Main—now some council members are questioning whether what they were shown matches what was built. #
The Architectural Review Board has approved a bike-themed mural on West Market, below the McGuffey Art Center, although at least one member expressed concerns that it might look like the bicyclists were riding away from Charlottesville’s downtown. #
City Police Chief Tim Longo is meeting with city leaders to work on protocols regarding the use of military surplus police weapons in Charlottesville. #
A 100-year-old Colonnades resident received military honors for her service in the WWII Women’s Army Corps #
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That’s pretty tragic. I wonder if any of the local cave club knew him? Overall, caving is a pretty safe sport when practiced with the right equipment and people that know what they are doing. (Cave diving is another story entirely…) I think that overall this was probably just an unfortunate accident, although it does appear he may have attempted a spot that was just too tight for him.
In following the news thread it appears that they were unable to recover the body and have made the decision to permanently seal the cave.
I have been through some tight spots while spelunking. I have been through some L-curves. Only once have I encountered a tight L-curve, and I decided that wasn’t for me—I’d gone far enough. This just reinforces that I made the right decision.
Several articles state something like this:
Without the body will they be able to provide that information?
From what I read, the cause of death seems pretty clear. The sad thing is that they almost rescued him. A pully dislodged when they were getting him out and then he slid back in deeper than before.
Waldo, yeah, I think this is definitely a tragic lesson aboing one knowing one’s limits… Another commenter on the article mentioned that he was about 130 pounds and almost got stuck in the same spot. Some challenges really just aren’t worth it. Pretty terrible way to learn that lesson though.
With the combination of white-nose disease, this sort of media attention is not really good for the sport. I’m glad though that, for the most part, the media has emphasised that the cave club had taken significant safety precautions. Nonetheless, I’m sure cavers are having many conversations as to how this mistake was made and how to prevent it in the future.