Ten-Year-Old Spends Night in Mine Shaft With Sister's Body

Girl's ATV drove into unmarked 125-foot drop
By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 3, 2007 1:16 PM CDT
Ten-Year-Old Spends Night in Mine Shaft With Sister's Body
A 13-year-old girl who went missing while riding an all-terrain vehicle in northwestern Arizona was found dead in a mine shaft, while her 10-year-old companion was rescued and in is critical condition at University Medical Center, pictured here, in Las Vegas on Sunday, Sept. 2, 2007. (AP Photo/Isaac...   (Associated Press)

A 10-year-old girl spent the night in an abandoned Arizona mine shaft with the body of her 13-year-old sister, who was killed when the ATV she was driving fell into the unmarked 125-foot shaft. Rescuers searching all night failed to find the shaft until morning because the entrance was concealed by rough terrain. The surviving girl is in critical condition at a Las Vegas hospital.

The girls were out riding for fun near Chloride, about 200 miles from Phoenix, the AP reports; their father was riding ahead of them on a dirt bike when he realized that they weren't behind him anymore. "They're little sweetheart girls," says their school bus driver. "I just keep hoping it's not true, but it's horrible." Officials say there are thousands of similar unmarked mine shafts throughout the state. (More Rikki Howard stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X