TELLER COUNTY, Colo. – The day after an elevator malfunctioned at the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine near Cripple Creek, county officials identified the man killed in Thursday’s incident.
Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell said during a Friday press briefing that 46-year-old Patrick Weir, a longtime employee at the mine and local resident was killed in the incident in which 23 people were rescued.
“We did lose a person in our local community who will be missed, who is the father of a child and has family in the area,” said Sheriff Mikesell. “He was a good man and loved his job.”
It is believed Weir died while the elevator was at the 500-foot level where 11 people were able to be rescued once the elevator was brought back to the surface level.
The other 12 people were 1,000 feet down the mine and officials on Friday said they delayed telling them the full scope of what was happening in an effort to calm nerves while the rescue operation unfolded.
“We made the ultimate decision not to tell them what was occurring at 500 foot and the surface. We knew we couldn’t get anyone down to them. We knew we couldn’t help them if there was a medical emergency,” said Mikesell. “If we would have had an anxiety issue or a heart attack because of the stress of it, you’re at a thousand feet and there’s no way up until we get the elevator up and running.”
Sheriff Mikesell said rescue crews and first responders were able to see video at the 1,000-foot level and talk to the guide with the mine visitors.
The 12 people at the lowest level were only told there was “a simple elevator issue and that everything was going to be fine,” he said.
Local
1 dead, 23 rescued after equipment malfunction at Teller County mine
Once the elevator was brought back up with the first 11 people – which included two children – the other 12, all out-of-state adults, were brought to the surface. Before the remaining people were rescued, the elevator was sent to the bottom and back up unmanned.
“The second piece of that was when it comes up – the rescuers would ride it back down with the owner to make sure the shaft is clear and he knows what he’s seeing,” said Mikesell. “We knew that we had a crushed door and there was issues and it may have hit something. We don’t know what kind of damage occurred.”
After testing the elevator system, the remaining 12 people were brought up to the surface at around 6:30 p.m. in groups of four and were met by a Teller County deputy and provided food, other necessities, along with medical and mental health resources.
“I went and briefed them,” said Mikesell. “You’re going to turn on your phone in the next few minutes and you’re going to be on stage in front of the national media. They had no idea what was going on.”
He said that’s when he, and other local officials, told those rescued about the tragedy. “That this was a major incident, it wasn’t just the belief that the elevator was broken and I think it was a very sobering experience for them.”
Sheriff Mikesell said the investigation into what malfunctioned is ongoing and that OSHA along with other agencies were probing the incident.He said the elevator operator – who sits in a cab at the surface – felt “something strange” and brought it to “a complete stop” and then brought it back up slowly.
The mine is named after Mollie Kathleen Gortner, who spotted a rocky outcropping with gold-laced quartz in the area in September 1891, according to the tour website. She became the first woman in the area to discover gold and strike a claim in her own name. She died in 1917 and her husband died one year later.
Their son was the managing operator of the mine until he died in 1949. Mining there continued into the early 1960s, when it closed, however the mine tours, which had done well for years, continued.
The last incident at the mine was believed to have happened in 1986.
Denver7's Stephanie Butzer contributed to this report.
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