4 days ago
Harrowing death of explorer trapped in cave for 17 days who became morbid tourist attraction after his body was stolen
It has been 100 years since a cave explorer became trapped in a Kentucky cave for 17 days and died there after efforts to rescue him were unsuccessful.
The harrowing ordeal of Floyd Collins, 37, made global headlines at the time, as reporters closely followed the tragic endeavour, drawing thousands of people to the scene.
A century has passed since the January 1925 tragedy, but Collins' story remains etched in history as the site of his death remains a morbid tourist attraction.
A curious explorer since the age of six, Collins spent much of his time exploring rocky terrains and crevices.
In 1918, he discovered the Great Crystal Cave in the Flint Ridge Cave system in south-central Kentucky.
Wanting to make the caves more accessible to visitors, he decided to open up Sand Cave and began working to enlarge the small passage.
On January 30, 1925, the explorer became trapped in a narrow crawl-way 55 ft below ground after a dislodged 27-pound boulder wedged his ankle against the cave wall.
Collins desperately tried to free himself, but to no avail.
A passerby miraculously heard the explorer's cries for help, and a rescue team was quickly formed to get him out.
In the days that followed, Collins' ordeal became a national spectacle, with thousands of rescuers, engineers, geologists, journalists and even spectators rushing to the site.
At one point, the mouth of the cave was flooded by thousands of curious onlookers and vendors selling food, drinks and souvenirs.
According to the Kentucky National Guard, at least 50,000 people may have gathered there.
But by day four of the rescue mission, a rock collapsed into the cave where Collins was, blocking the passageway used to pass him food and water.
It took rescuers several more days to reach Collins, but by the time they found him, he had died three days prior - most likely from thirst, hunger and hypothermia.
Recalling the day they reached his body, rescuers told the Kentucky National Guard: 'No sounds came from Collins at all, no respiration, no movement, and the eyes were sunken, indicating, according to physicians, extreme exhaustion going with starvation.'
Sand Cave was sealed off and it took three more months for his body to be recovered.
Although Collins was not known publicly for most of his life, the fame he gained from the rescue efforts and his death resulted in him being memorialised on his tombstone as the 'Greatest Cave Explorer Ever Known'.
Due to wide coverage on his death, Collins' case has sparked curiosity throughout the years.
At one point, his body was placed in a glass coffin on top of the cave to draw tourists, and several attempts were made to steal his body as a result.
In one shocking instance in 1929, a thief managed to steal Collins' body, but police managed to track the criminal down and recover the corpse, which somehow lost a leg along the process.
Collins' body was finally removed from the site in 1961 and was forever laid to rest at the Mammoth Cave Baptist Church.
But his story continues to spark curiosity, with many explorers still flocking to Sand Cave, which is now known as Mammoth Cave National Park - a World Heritage Site.
