"A lot of hugs and tears:" Authorities locate three teens in abandoned mine in Dodge County
DODGE COUNTY -- They were lost for nearly 24 hours in an abandoned mine in Dodge County -- but on Monday afternoon, July 11th Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt announced three teenage boys were located, relatively uninjured. Schmidt said the boys were simply exploring -- and got lost.
The three teens were identified as: 16-year-old Tate Rose, 16-year-old Zachary Heron and 15-year-old Samuel Lein.
Video shared by CNN Monday evening shows the moments after the boys were rescued:
Officials said the boys had some bumps and scrapes -- and they were a bit shaken up from their ordeal, but they were in good health when they were found -- and they were reunited with their families.
Schmidt said Monday a report that the boys were missing came in around 9:45 p.m. Sunday.
The boys' bicycles were located around 2:00 a.m. Monday.
Abandoned mine in Dodge Co. where three missing teens located
The boys were located Monday afternoon inside the abandoned mine -- uninjured with the exception of a couple bumps and scrapes, Schmidt said.
"All we saw were three ambulances coming one by one, and a dirty boy walking out. Very tired," a witness said.
The boys were exploring the abandoned cave, left behind by an old iron mine. Schmidt said one of the boys admitted the three of them went into the mine around 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 10th. The boy told the sheriff they went into the mine, got turned around and were not able to find the same entrance. Each of their cell phones lost power -- so they were not able to call out of the mine.
Abandoned mine in Dodge Co. where three missing teens located
"They were on the way from one place to another and decided they'd take a detour and do a little exploring -- went in a little father, got lost, turned around and as a result of not being able to find the entrance they went into, they slept in the mine overnight. I think, you get yourself into a situation, they did the smart thing and they did stay together. They didn't split up. They did get some rest and that was all key in what they did," Sheriff Schmidt said.
An exhaustive search would eventually include rescue crews from Madison and Milwaukee. It was a Milwaukee crew that found the boys just before noon.
Abandoned mine in Dodge Co. where three missing teens located
"We kind of split off at a T intersection in the cave. One of our members went down one of the legs of the T and he could just barely hear one of the boys shouting out for help. They had one light with them and a BIC lighter and then those ran out. They were in the dark for an unknown amount of time. Their voices were very weak. We shined some lights on them. They were sitting there, obviously very happy to see the first rescuer," Brian McNulty with the Milwaukee Fire Department said.
Officials had been searching the area of Mine Road and Ore Road in the Town of Hubbard after the boys' bikes were located.
Abandoned mine in Dodge Co. where three missing teens located
Missing teens located in abandoned mine in Dodge County
Officials said the search area is heavily wooded and there are old mine tunnels in the area as well, which made the search area difficult to traverse. Crews were using drones, a DNR plane and thermal imagines to search for the teens.
"We had a small community come together, made up of volunteers. Without those volunteers, we are a strictly volunteer fire department up here -- this wouldn't be possible. I do want to put that message out there to the public that these mines are on private property. It is posted no trespassing. I'm sure the University of Wisconsin will put in additional resources to make sure this is more secure. Fortunately we were able to find these three teens. It could've been a very unfortunate outcome," Schmidt said.
The Iron Ridge fire chief said a specialist from the DNR was brought in that "knew the cave well" -- and the boys were finally located.
Eric Roepke said his son is close friends with one of the rescued teens.
"We`re heading over to their house to say 'hi.' They took him home. He was pretty shaken up but everybody was very happy to see them, that`s for sure," Roepke said.
FOX6 News went to that boy's house, and his family declined to talk with FOX6 News on camera. We were told the boy is in good health -- just a bit shaken.
The families of Lein, Heron and Rose released the following statement on Monday evening:
"At this time it’s so hard to find words adequate to express how incredibly blessed we feel to have our boys back with us safe in our homes. We along with our family and friends went straight to the Lord God to ask for the safe return of Sam, Zach and Tate.
"We want to express our utmost gratitude for the countless Emergency Services workers who united to bring our boys home safely. We will be forever grateful to each and every one of you for working tirelessly throughout the night and the heat of the day to do this. It was amazing to watch both the families and different organizations supporting each other and seamlessly putting a plan together.
"We ask that you respect the privacy of our families from this point forward and this is our final statement in regard to this incident. Please know that we are eternally grateful to all of you."
Missing teens located in abandoned mine in Dodge County
Many had speculated the boys were playing the new Pokemon GO game for smartphones.
Officials and those close to the boys said that's not what they were doing. They were simply curious about the mine, and ended up learning a valuable lesson.
FOX6 News has learned there will be a "praise service" Monday evening at 6:30 p.m. at Gateway Community Church in Mayville to thank God that these teens were found, and that they are okay.