Arizona

Man Who Fell Into Deep Arizona Mine Shaft Rescued 2 Days Later

The man told the friend who discovered him that he killed three rattlesnakes during the ordeal, according to a local news report

A man who was trapped for days at the bottom of an old abandoned mine shaft in Arizona was rescued Wednesday after a friend hadn't heard from him.

Maricopa County sheriff's officials say the man fell into the 100-foot shaft in Aguila sometime Monday.

He was found Wednesday by his friend Terry Shrader, who knew the man was at the abandoned gold mine and hadn't heard from him, according to NBC affiliate KPNX.

"I was afraid of what I was going to find," Shrader said, but he heard shouting when he arrived at the scene and went to get help.

A medic was lowered in to treat the man, identified by KPNX as John Waddell, before a metal gurney lifted him out of the shaft, authorities said. He was taken to a hospital for a medical evaluation.

Aguila is located west of Wickenburg and about 90 miles (144 kilometers) northwest of Phoenix.

Waddell told Shrader that he killed three rattlesnakes while in the shaft, KPNX reported.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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