Crew Rescues Injured Scout From New Mexico Cave

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) -- Rescuers surfaced Friday morning with a teenage Boy Scout more than 16 hours after he injured his leg 1 1/2 miles into a cave in south-central New Mexico.

Reilly Walker, 14, of Corona was in good condition and was taken to nearby Lincoln County Medical Center in Ruidoso after he fell off a ledge about 2:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon while hiking with fellow Scouts in the Fort Stanton Cave on U.S. Bureau of Land Management land near Fort Stanton.

The teen, who suffered a laceration to the leg, received painkillers and was placed on an orange gurney that rescuers pulled with ropes through narrow cave passages to the surface, said Hans Stuart, a BLM spokesman.

``Everything went wonderfully,'' Stuart said from the scene just after the rescuers surfaced with the boy at 7:07 a.m. ``He (Walker) is certainly conscious and in good spirits.''

Walker was placed in an ambulance to go to the hospital.

Walker's father, Steven Walker, was with his son in the ambulance, Stuart said.

``His dad said he is a resilient, tough kid with a good head on his shoulders,'' Stuart said.

The Walker family moved to New Mexico from Massachusetts last week, he said.

Reilly Walker fell about 15 feet in the cave, which is about two miles long and has about eight miles of passages, Stuart said.

A fellow Boy Scout stayed with the teen and helped to calm him when he panicked while others went for help, Stuart said.

Rescuers _ about 40 at one point _ wound their way down the cave to reach the boy later Thursday. ``Some came out and others arrived to come in to relieve those who were tired because it was very arduous, painstaking work,'' Stuart said.

``There are areas there that are moist, so it can be slippery. There are areas where you have ups and downs. You have two areas where you have to crawl and the ceiling is two to three feet high,'' Stuart said.

Rescuers crawled or stooped low through a 1,500-foot section of cave and crawled an additional 500 yards through another section as they pulled ropes attached to the gurney, Stuart said.

``They actually strung a telephone line in there to keep in touch with the rescue team,'' Stuart said.

The cave's temperature averages 54 to 56 degrees, and Walker was wearing proper clothing including a hard hat, knee pads and gloves, Stuart said.

The Fort Stanton cave, about 15 miles northeast of Ruidoso and a mile southeast of the fort, is third-largest in the state, Stuart said.

``It is a totally unimproved cave. No lights, no walkways, none of that stuff. That's the appeal to cavers,'' Stuart said.

The cave, known for fragile crystalline gypsum formations, formed below the water table in a series of cracks or faults with passages that intersect at angles. Going into the cave requires hard hats and boots or heavy shoes.

Walker is a member of Boy Scout Troop 108 from Estancia. The troop camped with other troops in the area this week. A group of Scouts went into the cave exploring Thursday, Stuart said. A police officer was one of the adults with the group and climbed out to call for help.

``It took him a full hour to get out, and he was hurrying,'' Stuart said.

Cavers and volunteers from around New Mexico gathered to assist with the rescue, Stuart said.

Exploration of the cave is restricted, but Stuart said the Boy Scouts had obtained the proper permits.