‘A huge sense of relief’: Clay County emergency officials rescue man from cave

CLAY COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — Clay County Emergency Management Agency officials released images of a dramatic cave rescue that happened over the weekend when crews rescued a man who was trapped near Celina, TN.

Officials told News 2 the rescue was a collaborative effort across multiple state and local agencies. Clay County authorities were called Saturday after the victim’s family on Cherry Farm Lane said he’d been missing for two days.

His car was soon found parked on the side of Weber Road near a cave where rescuers say the man use to explore when as a child. Officials say when he revisited last week, he got lost inside after exploring a new area, his flashlight died and he couldn’t find his way out.

Thankfully, he was not injured. However, officials said he was disoriented and dehydrated when they got to the scene. Saturday’s rainfall also put a timeline on how quickly first responders needed to work before the cave became slick.

“He walked out when he got to the mouth of the cave. He got up and walked out [and] thanked everybody,” assistant director of the Clay County Emergency Management Agency, Chris Hayes, said. “It’s just a huge sense of relief just to know that he was okay and that we were able to help him in that state of emergency.”

“That’s the great thing: especially with the upper Cumberland, there [are] several counties, but we like to work as one,” Hayes added. “We’re always there for each other and we’ll do anything to support one another.”

Officials told News 2 before exploring caves, it’s important to make sure you have enough equipment and you communicate with someone about where you’ll be and for how long.