Danger of Open Mines

Open threats
Deserted mines pose grave danger to desert explorers
Megan Blaney, Staff Writer
San Bernardino County Sun
CALICO - On the day 6-year-old River Lasley saw his father fall 60 feet to his death in an abandoned mine shaft, he expressed one prayer:

Please don't let it happen to anyone else.

But it did. Just one week later, another man plummeted down the same shaft. Trevor Montgomery survived but suffered critical injuries and is paralyzed.

In a tearful phone call, River's mother, 37-year-old Kris Lasley of Vista, recounted the boy's ordeal at the mine.

"Why weren't there any signs?" the child asked would-be rescuers. And are you "going to close it up so nobody else will fall?"

The incidents illuminated a major problem throughout the state that has no easy solution 12,000 abandoned mines pepper San Bernardino County alone with no feasible way to close them all.

Attempts by state and federal agencies to close the more dangerous mines are ongoing, but only a fraction of a percent is closed each year. Mines exist on both private and public property, and vandalism makes boundaries vague.

Officials say the onus is on people who visit the desert. Avoid them entirely. Families vacationing nearby must balance a natural curiosity to explore the historical sites with a healthy dose of common sense and caution.

"Just don't go near them," said Sgt. Doug Hubbard, of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. "Every mine is dangerous. Every single one."...........

http://www.sbsun.com/search/ci_3747900