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Park County residents rescue dog from 25-foot mine shaft in Fairplay (video)

Portia Scovern with Cheyenne, who was rescued from a 25-foot-deep mine shaft. Cheyenne was most likely stuck in the shaft for at least a week. (Courtesy Preston Gladd)

Another Park County resident was reunited with his dog after a good Samaritan who found her while hiking was able to rescue her from the bottom of a 25-foot mine shaft in Fairplay with two friends and some climbing gear. Thanks to social media, the brown mixed-breed dog was identified and returned the very next day. The rescue comes on the heels of another lost dog story, where an Alma family was reunited with their lab-pit bull mix after she had been missing for five weeks and was found on Mount Bross.

About a week prior to the rescue, Preston Gladd was out hiking in the Beaver Creek area of Fairplay when he heard growling coming from a mine shaft. Thinking it was a wild animal, he ignored the sounds and continued on. He kept thinking about the noises he heard, however, so on Wednesday, Oct. 18, after returning home from a vacation, Gladd headed back out to the same area with his dogs. As he got closer to the mine shaft, this time he heard barking.



Preston Gladd (right) and his roommate, Gannon Ingels, used climbing gear to lower Gladd into a 25-foot-deep mine shaft so they could rescue Cheyenne. (Photo by Portia Scovern)

“I looked inside and saw her down in the bottom, trapped,” the Fairplay resident said.



He left and returned with reinforcements — his girlfriend, Portia Scovern, his roommate, Gannon Ingels, and some climbing gear.

The pair was able to lower Gladd down into the shaft, where he tied a harness around the dog to pull her out.

Although skinny and dehydrated, the dog — whom they later found out was named Cheyenne — didn’t have any injuries after falling 25 feet into the shaft.

“She was not as bad as I expected,” Gladd said.

Scovern captured the rescue on video, posting it to social media the same day in hopes to find Cheyenne’s owner. Photos were shared to several lost dog groups, and by the next day, Cheyenne’s owner was found. Although the owner was in Denver at the time, Gladd was able to return the dog to the owner’s friends on Thursday. Gladd said he believes the dog had been missing since Oct. 4 after running off, and most likely spent at least a week at the bottom of the mine shaft.

UPDATE:: Facebook helped find the owner before the sun came up!! ?We rescued a doggy from an abandoned mine shaft outside Fairplay/Southpark, Colorado!! She is not reported missing at any vet or police station and she is not microchipped..She is underweight and dehydrated, but we are shocked that she has no injuries after a 20ft fall.The story gets worse.. Preston was hiking this area over A WEEK ago when he heard sounds coming from the cave. He thought it was a wild animal so he did not investigate. He came to hike here again today when he heard actual barking; At which point he called Gannon and I to come help.Please share this Colorado mountain people so we can find her parents! I emailed the newspaper as well.

Posted by Portia Scovern on Wednesday, October 18, 2017


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