Jeep Mine - Sunshine Canyon

[CaverStretch]

So another adventure. Along time ago in a galaxy far far away...Sunshine Canyon, another great example of DOGM destruction on mining history. In the 90's there were two men who were jeeping in their super sweet Willies Jeep during the winter. As they were working their way up the mountain, they came upon a tree. In their quick decision they decided to go left. Little did they know there were two mines shafts, one on the left and one on the right. The mine shaft to the right is called the Sunshine Mine, it descends rumored 1200' (I have been to the 300' level). The mine shaft on the left was waiting for them. As they came up the hill they turned left and drove straight into the mine they didn't see. At first they thought they might be able to correct and get out by fish bowling, but their tactic did not work and down they dropped. 70' into the mine they descended. When they hit the bottom of the mine, both of the slammed into their seat belts so hard it wroke them. Dazed, hurt, in pain, they climbed to the top of their jeep to wait. And wait, and wait. 6 hours later some snowmobliers stopped at the Sunshine Mine for a smoke break. Off in the distance they thought they could hear screaming. They walked over to the shaft for the surprize of their life.

They called Search and Rescue and got them out. Each had serious injuries but lived to tell the tell. Here is the Jeep one year later. Remember, the jeep was in show condition. You will see how rocks and weather can destroy vehicles quickly. The mine is now closed with a gate on the surface. All you can see today is the tailgate. The rest of the Jeep is buried.

LINK TO THE VIDEO

[UnderUtah]

Thanks for posting that sweet video Rob. Gotta give it to you and that wacky Rdoney...

[RedRockXJ]

Rob, it's so great to see this video as it shows both the shafts without the covered rebar like it has today. Also, it shows the Jeep much more intact as most of the parts haven't been yanked off. Kurt is very familiar with this story, as I believe he knows one or both of the victims?

When did you record this Rob?

[RedRockXJ]

Is the new video ready yet?

[CaverStretch]

mike is working on it today.

[one_bad_rover]

So I cant substantiate, but I heard a totally different story from a guy who supposedly was the one who dropped his jeep in there. As he said it, they were out wheeling, and had gotten a little off the path but they had been drinking for most of the day and so they werent too worried. He said they saw a good sized tailings pile and thought it would make a great hill climb... so up they went, and once they cleared the top it was all down hill, literally.
From that point they made their way out of the jeep ad up to the top of the mine. But they were still too drunk to get the cops involved. So they sat around for a bit, and then walked out to 73. they flagged a car from there that took them into Stockton where the called the sherriff.
The co sherriff took a look at the area from the road and told them he could call a wrecker but they would be responsible for all the fees of extracting the vehicle and also for the fines for driving off the road. Or they could leave the truck there and call it good.
They opted for the latter, since the Jeep wasnt worth the cost and repairs. When DOGM did the closures, from Mark M's (previous DOGM adminsitrator) POV, decending the shaft was not an option, nor was retrieval. So they left it there and gated over it.

Dont know what is right and what is not, but he had some compelling facts about the site, and the CJ thats down there... but... I didnt see it happen so I dont know for sure...

[ExpUt]

Stories I've heard (from neighbor of passenger)

"The short story was that he and a buddy were out there cruising around in his built willy's truck. Came over a short hill (tailings), through a fence, and down into the mine. One of them was unconsious and trapped, the other was able to hold onto part of the fence that they drove through and use it like a ladder to climb out of the pit. He yelled for help and some one heard them. It took search and rescue along with life flight to get him out of the jeep. It was weeks (maybe months) recovering from it."

"I talked to his mother today. I guess he was hours from hypothermia. It was a warmer day for a January, the accident happened around 2 in the afternoon, and he was not out until around 10:00. She says that the roll cage was build very nice, and the jeep had basically bounced from side to side down the shaft wtih the two guys inside the cage. That is a big part of what saved their lives."

"They drove into a air shaft for the mine, the one they landed is in 90 feet deep, the other one is the real mine and goes down 1300 feet. Also they were both down in the mine for 6-7 hours before some guy out driving his new truck drove by and just happened to stop at the mines to get out for a smoke or something. They were able to yell for help, and he happened to hear them. He is the one that ripped out the cattle fence that they crashed through and he lowered it down allowing one of the guys to get out.
Also it happened February of 95, one of the guys is now 33, the other would be 31.
A few people have been down since. The kids boss went down and got some parts off, the guy that sold him the jeep went down to get some parts, and the dad went down with a video camera to document it. I would really like to see that video, and what it was like down there. Hopefully I get get it and convert it to DVD so I can share with the group."

I'm not sure if they would have been able to climb out, its pretty dang deep in an absolute vertical shaft, the story of the cattle fence sounds the most promising?

[Stuart]

Wow, so I have heard about ten different versions of this story now.
Here is a link to Roberts video down there:
LINK TO THE VIDEO