Several teens rescued from abandoned missile silo, one critically hurt
DENVER (KDVR) — The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office and several other agencies rescued several teens from an abandoned missile silo near Deer Trail Sunday morning. One of the teens was in critical condition after falling 30 feet.
A rescue operation had been underway to save the teen. Just before 9 a.m., the teen was rescued and put into a helicopter that was on standby at the scene and airlifted away.
Authorities told FOX31 that the teen, who is 18, was expected to survive.
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The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office told FOX31 that eight teens total trespassed onto the land and made their way to the silo and where rescuers were called to the scene around 3:30 a.m.
Two other teens also had to be rescued in addition to the one that fell, according to authorities.
This included one juvenile, one 18-year-old and the injured 18-year-old.
The rest of the teens were juveniles, according to the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office.
Firefighters from Sable Altura Fire Rescue, Deer Trail Fire Rescue, Agate Fire Rescue and Bennett-Watkins Fire Rescue also responded to the scene and aided in the rescue.
“One of the most dangerous rescues”
When rescue crews arrived to the scene, five juveniles — two boys and three girls — were contacted above ground. They said that three were still inside the silo.
The two uninjured teens who were staying with the injured 18-year-old were rescued around 6 a.m.
Crews were able to reach him at around 6:30 a.m., and he was removed from the silo around 2 hours later at 8:30 a.m.
The operation was described as one of the most dangerous rescues that authorities have ever done.
The silo, which is in the 82000 block of East County Road 22, has reportedly been abandoned since the 1960s.
Photo taken during the rescue (Credit: Sable Altura Fire Rescue) Eight teens were rescued from an abandoned missile silo near Deer Trail Sunday (Credit: Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office) Eight teens were rescued from an abandoned missile silo near Deer Trail Sunday (Credit: Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office) (Credit: KDVR) (Credit: KDVR) Photo taken during the rescue (Credit: Sable Altura Fire Rescue) (Credit: Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office)
Rescuers responded to the scene right after being alerted and were searching for the victims for almost two hours. Communication was difficult, due to no cell reception in the silo.
One rescuer described the abandoned silo as “a mess,” and said there was “twisted metal, collapsed floors, concrete pieces everywhere,” in the confined space.
Another rescuer said the teen who fell and was rescued was “lucky to be alive.”
The uninjured 18-year-old male rescued from inside the silo received a summons for third-degree criminal trespass. The other teens were released to their parents, pending possible charges for trespassing.
According to the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, the injured 18-year-old was also released pending possible charges.
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