Make wishtv.com your home page

2 rescued after spending 4 days in cave near Bedford

BEDFORD, Ind. (WISH) — Two people were rescued from a southern Indiana cave on Friday after being inside since Tuesday.

Indiana Conservation Officers were notified of a missing person search for 31-year-old Joshua Patton of Bedford. Family members had been unable to contact him since Tuesday, but Patton had told them he had planned to enter Doghill-Donnehue Cave.

Officers entered the cave just before noon and found Patton and 38-year-old Samantha East, also of Bedford, with him approximately 2,000 feet inside the cave.

Patton said the two entered the cave around 6:15 p.m. Tuesday with only a cellphone light to help them navigate the cave. After damaging the phone and losing that light source, Patton and East used cigarette lighters to exit the cave until the lighters ran out of fuel. The two then stopped and waited in total darkness.

Patton and East were treated inside the cave for hypothermia, dehydration and exhaustion before being transported to IU Health Bedford Hospital for further evaluation.