Arizona fatality of rouxkhound/prospecter

[GarretDiggingAz]

My condolences to this guys wife and friends. I hope nobody here knew this fellow hobbiest. It just shows us all that we must be careful about the earths material. That next rock you're moving could be that keystone.

We just had our first hobbiest fatality yesterday 10/9/13. Apparently they were hunting a hillside for gold near Benson AZ. When the hill gave way and buried him under 3' of stone and dirt. I believe he was 72.
My wife tells me this after I just got back today from my digging spot. I don't make tunnels in our dirt. Another spot east of me in same area, a guy was digging in the wash a tunnel that looked like it went about 6-8' deep. I said to myself, that it's very unstable earth (sand, gravel,clay, and big river rock) and that I'd never risk that. It was there for about 5-6 months. It collapsed within this last month.
So people coming here to dig in the hillsides, please use common sense and study the material before digging and moving material.

 

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[Hoser John]

Ignorance in safe mining practices and procedures is often rewarded with a terminal disease called SQUISH-John

 

[goldenIrishman]

WOW!!! In Benson? That's right around the corner from me so to speak. While this is sad news for the mining hobbyists out there it should also serve as a lesson to prospectors everywhere. Safety should always be our number 1 concern. You can have old prospectors and foolish prospectors but never old foolish prospectors! Let's just hope that the government doesn't use this as an excuse to shut us all down because "It's way too dangerous to allow the public to follow these pursuits."

 

[63bkpkr]

Heck Golden, its way to dangerous for "us people" to let them "politicians" be in charge of the country as the w'hole' place could fall in on us! Oh wait, I know how they'd fix us being unsafe out there, get another loan and put up fences! What idiots our government is showing us they are, IMHO.....................63bkpkr

I guess we the people should actually get out and vote.

 

[AzViper]

A Tucson man was killed in a remote area off Apache Powder Road southeast of Benson Wednesday afternoon when the side of a wash caved in on him while he and a friend were excavating for rocks, according to the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office.

On Thursday authorities identified the victim as William Lawrence, 56. His name had been initially withheld until notification of next of kin. Lawrence was rock hunting with his friend Barbara Muntyan, also of Tucson. Muntyan, who had stepped away from the area momentarily, heard the cave in, returned to the site and was stunned by the massive amount of rock and earth covering her friend, said Sgt. John Filippelli of the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office Benson District.

The accident happened five miles northwest of the intersection of Apache Powder and Desert Rose roads, in an area that requires a four-wheel drive vehicle to access, said Filippelli. The only cell phone and keys to the vehicle were buried under the rock slide with the victim, forcing Muntyan to walk five miles on an extremely rough road to Apache Powder Road, where she flagged down a vehicle for help.

“We got the call around 12:55,” said Filippelli, who estimates they were on scene about two hours after the accident happened because of the time it took Muntyan to get help.

“The sides of the wash were about 10 feet high, and one entire side had caved in on him,” said Filippelli. “He was buried under mounds of rock; one the size of a small car.”

Along with the Sheriff’s Office, responders included Benson and St. David Volunteer Fire Departments, Cochise County Search and Rescue and the County Road Department. Initially, responders were attempting rescue efforts with shovels, until the road department arrived with a backhoe, said Filippelli.

Sheriff’s Deputy Timothy Palermo, who was with Filippelli and Muntyan when they arrived on scene, said, “When you see something like this, you always hope the person can survive the accident, but in the back of my mind, I thought it looked pretty hopeless. I was shocked by the size and number of rocks that had buried him.”

It took about two hours to find the victim under the rubble, Filippelli said. The man’s name will be released by the Sheriff’s Office once his family has been notified.

 

[mellowyellow]

Very sad news. He could of been a great smart seasoned miner.. Who knows. **** happens in the desert. I have seen walls come down that no one expected to come down...

Let's keep the politics off this thread.. Let's give this thread /dead miner brother the respect it/he deserves ..

 

[pippinwhitepaws]

not benson...st david...alluvial sands are not stable, do not make good tunnel material.

the walls of most arroyos in this part of the state are unstable to begin with...digging undermines any stability in the sand/gravel.

to sad, prayers for the family.

 

[RCGoodin]

RIP fellow hunter. Prayers go to his friends and family.

 

[AzViper]

Ignorance in safe mining practices and procedures is often rewarded with a terminal disease called SQUISH-John

John what a . You have no clue the circumstances of this accident and for you to take a cheap shot as you did is wrong. The man that lost his life and as far as we know he may have been standing in the wrong place at the wrong time when the side embankment just gave away. Maybe all it took was a vehicle above vibrating the ground to cause this accident. Your a real trooper I must say. I have read some of your post of late and for the most part they have had a negative feel to them just as this post has...

My condolences to this mans family and friends, I am sorry we have some very immature individuals in these forums...

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

John what a . You have no clue the circumstances of this accident and for you to take a cheap shot as you did is wrong. The man that lost his life and as far as we know he may have been standing in the wrong place at the wrong time when the side embankment just gave away. Maybe all it took was a vehicle above vibrating the ground to cause this accident. Your a real trooper I must say. I have read some of your post of late and for the most part they have had a negative feel to them just as this post has...

Azviper, I understand why you said it, but it still violates our rules..

All, please watch the insults...

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[austin]

I think the part about crumbling walls or hillsides might just go a long way in explaining why lost mines, including the LDM, get lost and stay lost. Maybe not

 

[Sample Pan Dan]

So sad

 

[AzViper]

Azviper, I understand why you said it, but it still violates our rules..

Totally understand, but its crap like what was said is wrong and anyone who has any common sense should know better. That goes for those who post a "LIKE" as well... This man may have been a member of these forums or family and friends may be members. Going to check with our local club Desert Gold Diggers.

 

[boga]

Making jokes about someone dying from a collapsing bank is not funny in the least. There might not have been anything he could have done, being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
People should ask if they would say what they say if it was their family member.
Now there was some robbers using a blow torch to get into the safe, the dynamite inside blew up and they are now darwin award winners. I am sad for their families, but they brought that on themselves doing a crime.A cliff giving way is not the same.

There are alot of stupid people out there. commenting on a death from a collapse is not one of the smart things to do, more like a teenager comment.

Two Suspected Burglars Killed When Blow Torch Ignites Fireworks In Safe « CBS Boston

 

[jog]

If people keep refering to there mining as a hobby or recreational it won't matter, they will take it away from you. Mining is mining........ You have no 1872 mining rights under the terms of hobby or recreational. "REMEMBER THAT NEXT TIME YOU REFER TO YOUR TYPE OF MINING".

 

[JohnTrayMD]

Ignorance in safe mining practices and procedures is often rewarded with a terminal disease called SQUISH-John

John I suppose you cracked a joke for your 6 close friends you claim died of Valley Fever while dry washing. John you have a sick / warped mind if you think its funny when a fellow miners dies. This is a low blow.

 

[Hefty1]

R.I.P. fellow Miner.

If people keep refering to there mining as a hobby or recreational it won't matter, they will take it away from you. Mining is mining........ You have no 1872 mining rights under the terms of hobby or recreational. "REMEMBER THAT NEXT TIME YOU REFER TO YOUR TYPE OF MINING".

 

[DizzyDigger]

Sorry to hear of the man's death. Mining is, and always will be a dangerous endeavor.

One of the first lessons I ever learned about digging dry ground was to never
dig "coyote holes" in the sides of a wash or other alluvial area. The ground
there is just too unsteady, and I believe it is the cause of a majority of the
fatalities in mining today.

FWIW, John takes a very pragmatic approach to mining, and he's probably
seen a few of this type of cave-in himself. When I drove long-haul, it wasn't
unusual to see the scene's of accidents where the truck driver got killed,
and quite often it was from making a rookie mistake that any experienced
driver would know better than to attempt. And yes, it wasn't uncommon that
you'd hear some rather cold comments about the deceased drivers competency.
Factual, but not to sensitive to the deceased's family.

I feel truly bad for this man's family, and his friend who was there and
could do nothing to save him.

Could it be as a "Mining Community" we need to do more public outreach
and education? Saving a single life would be worth the effort, so hopefully
a newspaper or TV reporter will speak to an experienced miner and pass
the info along to the public.

My condolences to his family.

 

[Mad Machinist]

John what a . You have no clue the circumstances of this accident and for you to take a cheap shot as you did is wrong. The man that lost his life and as far as we know he may have been standing in the wrong place at the wrong time when the side embankment just gave away. Maybe all it took was a vehicle above vibrating the ground to cause this accident. Your a real trooper I must say. I have read some of your post of late and for the most part they have had a negative feel to them just as this post has...

My condolences to this mans family and friends, I am sorry we have some very immature individuals in these forums...

My condolences do go out to this man's family.

But I do fear we are going to see more of this as our population ages and picks up new hobbies.

 

[GarretDiggingAz]

You know about hillsides giving away for no reason, well here's a story.

I was pre-fishing for a tournament at Apache Lake and I study the hills, cliffs and bluffs pretty regularly from afar at the time. Those cliffs go up a ways in some spots. The area I'm talking about I believe is decomposed granite but the mountains and cliffs make it seem solid. This hillside was covered with green vegetation and yellow flowers as it was springtime.
The next week, I had gone back to my fishing spot and noticed the change. The hillside was a fresh brown, reddish color to it. I sat there in awe. Wishing I could've seen nature at its best/worse. We had no weather that week and I could only question what would make the cliffs give way and roll down the hillside.
I'm not certain on how much of it gave way, but even a 50' high cliff is a "ton" of dirt.
Now I wish I could go inspect that area, but I don't think I'll do that.
So I won't speculate that he was digging a tunnel. I only had talked about a tunnel in an area I prospect at. Still, you've got hillsides strewn with boulders or even river rock. So just make sure those rocks overhead are moved away for safety sales.
Also, thanks for the person who actually saw/read the story as I had only heard it from my wife. I love that area around Benson.
So I'll say a special thanks to those rescuers who went out to do a job that gives little in reward except for personal belief of doing good.