Topline

A tourist gold mine in Colorado experienced an elevator malfunction Thursday that left one person dead and trapped 12 others 1,000 feet beneath the surface, according to local authorities, who are aiming to make a successful rescue by this evening.

Key Facts

Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you’ll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.

How Will Those Trapped In The Mine Be Freed?

Authorities are attempting to figure out what happened to the elevator and if it can safely be used to bring up the stranded people, with rope teams from the Colorado Springs Fire Department being considered as a backup plan, according to Mikesell.

Key Background

The Mollie Kathleen gold mine, about a two-hour drive south of Denver, provides visitors with a one-hour tour stretching 1,000 feet beneath the surface. The mine was founded in the 1800s and closed in the 1960s, when its owners decided tour revenues would be used to maintain the mine in case it could one day be used for gold production again, according to the mine’s website. The website also recommends visitors bring jackets suitable for temperatures of about 50 degrees. Mikesell said the mine had not experienced an incident since 1986.

Further Reading

1 dead, 12 trapped 1,000 feet underground after equipment malfunction at Teller County mine (ABC Denver)

One dead, a dozen others trapped inside Colorado tourist mine after equipment malfunction (Denver Gazzette)

After a three-year, multi-state poaching investigation, three men pleaded guilty to a combined 19 hunting and wildlife violations in Jefferson and Adams counties, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

Together, the three face nearly $50,000 in fines, state officials said in a news release.

“These defendants took deliberate actions to break dozens of laws with a complete disregard for the wildlife of the state; they were poachers, not hunters,” CPW officer Scott Murdoch said. “Hunters are those who act morally and legally when out in the field. Poachers are folks who actively take advantage of the laws and wildlife resources.”

Jeffrey Flaherty, 58, accepted a plea deal in September and pleaded guilty to 13 misdemeanors, including illegally possessing big game, baiting wildlife, hunting elk out of season and making false statements on license applications, according to court records.

The 58-year-old lied about being a Colorado resident to make it easier to obtain a hunting license and to pay lower licensing fees, state officials said. Investigators said Jeffrey Flaherty held an active Florida driver’s license and voted as a Florida resident in the 2020 election.

His plea deal dropped 14 additional charges — including multiple counts of baiting bears, providing false information on license applications and illegally possessing big game — from his case, according to court records.

As part of the plea deal, charges against two other defendants — Tyrrell Flaherty and Tiffany Flaherty — were also dismissed, state officials said in the release.

Together, the two faced an additional 16 misdemeanors, according to court records.

Jeffrey Flaherty was fined $42,787 and received two years of supervised probation, restricting his ability to hunt and fish in Colorado, state officials said. He also faces mandatory five-year license suspension through a separate CPW hearing.

The license suspension would extend to 48 other states, state officials said.

Andrew Flaherty, Jeffrey Flaherty’s 27-year-old son, pled guilty last December to three misdemeanors including illegal possession of wildlife, hunting bull elk with bait and hunting out of season, state officials said in the release.

State officials said trail cameras caught the father and son setting out food to illegally bait wildlife on multiple occasions and captured the two harvesting a mule deer near the bait.

The 27-year-old was fined $3,646 and will also undergo a hunting and fishing license suspension hearing, according to court records.

Kenneth Curtis, 75, pleaded guilty to three misdemeanors including baiting bears, illegally hunting wildlife with bait and failing to wear daylight fluorescent orange while hunting, state officials said.

Curtis was charged $1,646 in fines and his hunting and fishing privileges were suspended for one year, according to state officials.

In an interview with CPW officers, Curtis, who occasionally tended the Flaherty property and lives nearby, said he spoke with Jeffrey Flaherty about placing elk innards and pumpkins to attract a black bear.

State officials said Curtis admitted to using game meat to draw bears to the area, a violation of Colorado statutes, but officers did not find evidence Curtis harvested a bear.

“Baiting wildlife does not follow the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation,” CPW area wildlife manager Mark Lamb said. “It does not allow an animal the fair chase and lawful opportunity they deserve.”

Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day.