ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — A teen rescued after he fell dozens of feet into a missile silo on Colorado's eastern plains on New Year's Day.
Two juveniles and one adult had been on private property along the 4500 block of S. Imboden — about two miles south of E. Quincy Avenue — when one of the juveniles fell between 30 and 50 feet into the exhaust vent tunnel of a decommissioned Titan Missile Facility, according to Sable Altura Fire Rescue and the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office. Missile silos are vertical underground structures for the storage and launching of missiles.
The initial 911 call came in around 3:45 p.m., said John Bartmann, spokesperson with the sheriff's office. Multiple agencies responded to the scene, including Bennett-Watkins Fire Rescue, South Metro Fire and Sable Altura Fire Rescue.
Sable Altura said its crews built a rope system and lowered two rescuers toward the juvenile. The duo assessed his injuries, attached a harness to him, and they were all lifted back up.
He was then transported to a hospital around 5 p.m.
The sheriff's office is investigating this case and will determine any possible charges to recommend. Because this happened on state-owned land, state officials will need to decide if they want to press charges.
"The dedicated emergency response of the three agencies that operated this rescue under this command, and the interoperability allowed this rescue to be completed VERY rapidly," Sable Altura Fire Rescue said. "A reminder... the military history on the eastern plains of Colorado is better left to the history books. PLEASE do not think for any moment, that these are safe environments to enter or explore."
There are six former Titan I missile complexes in Colorado, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Earlier this year, in a separate incident, two 18-year-olds were cited with trespassing after they allegedly broke into an abandoned missile silo near Deer Trail. One of the teens fell through a two-story shaft and down the underground complex, landing on twisted metal, broken concrete and stagnant water at the bottom.
State
What is a missile silo? There may be more of them in Colorado than you thought
The Colorado Titan missile sites were decommissioned and the missiles removed in 1965. They have been sitting abandoned for more than 50 years.
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