Rangers received a report of a caver who had fallen in Fitton Cave around midnight on Friday, August 3rd. Fitton Cave, also known as Beauty Cave, is one of the largest caves in mid-America. The victim, Bill Frantz, 63, of Los Gatos, California, was part of a group of eight who had been issued a special permit to explore the cave. According to witnesses, Frantz fell a distance of approximately 12 feet while negotiating the “21-Jumps” section of the cave, about a mile from the nearest entrance (known as the “wet entrance”), around 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday evening. The park’s SAR team was mobilized along with local first responders and cave specialists. Due to the remote location and severely washed-out roads, arrival at the scene by rescue personnel was delayed. Frantz, suffering from a broken collar bone and bruised ribs, was able to exit the cave under his own power just as rescue personnel were entering the cave at about 5 a.m. He was later treated for his injuries at a local hospital. Subdistrict ranger Lee Brumbaugh served as incident commander.
