Christmas Night Tragedy Turns Into a Miracle Rescue

 

 

Special to The Edmonson News

 

***The following is a community interest story provided by Dillon Beckner to the Edmonson News.***

 

On December 25, around 9:00 p.m., Dillon Beckner received a call regarding a coon dog that had gone into a cave and did not come back out. Beckner contacted the owner and obtained a GPS location, letting him know he was about 15 minutes away.

By the time Beckner arrived, geared up with boots and a helmet, and reached the cave entrance, it was just shy of 9:30 p.m. He entered the cave with a one-hour call-out. About 20 feet in, Beckner encountered a four-foot-tall passage with a small stream running through it. He crawled upstream roughly 10 feet, where the passage narrowed to about two feet tall and progressively became smaller.

Beckner crawled through what felt like a graveyard-filled passage of small bones and coon feces, following the sound of the dog barking. He went as far as he physically could before having to turn around and exit the cave. Around 11:00 p.m., he called Monica Galvez with an update.

Beckner then headed back into the cave and began digging and moving dirt by hand. Monica arrived around 12:00 a.m. with a small garden trowel and a Wonder Bar. Using the trowel, he worked to create a small path to get closer to the dog.

By 4:00 a.m., Beckner was within approximately 12 feet of the dog in a passage so tight that he could only extend his left arm in front of himself and couldn’t lift his hips at all. At this point, Beckner could visibly see Daisy’s tail and part of her hip through a small opening maybe three inches tall and one foot wide.

 

 

That’s when he noticed another tail behind Daisy that clearly did not belong to her. A face appeared that could only be described as a masked bandit. The coon stood up and moved, and Beckner realized that the only thing between him and its escape route was air. He made the call to back out and call it a night.

Beckner went home, got what little sleep he could, and returned at 12:30 p.m., refreshed and ready to go. He requested two six-foot pieces of PVC pipe with a coupler to join them, along with some paracord. Beckner re-entered the cave around 1:00 p.m. to continue digging and to confirm there were no masked bandits still inside.

Monica returned around 3:00 p.m. with all the requested supplies. They made a makeshift snare using the PVC pipe and paracord. Around 6:00 p.m., they successfully snared Daisy’s right rear leg. Success or so he thought.

Unfortunately, Daisy kicked and dug so much dirt that she could no longer fit back through the passage. They worked with her until she was physically exhausted. Beckner attempted to make another snare for her left rear leg, but during the process, she kicked free from the first snare and turned her back to me. Both Daisy and Beckner were completely exhausted and had to call it.

They exited the cave hungry, exhausted, and feeling defeated. Beckner informed the owner that Daisy was no longer completely stuck and likely had about six feet to go before reaching a less restrictive passage. If she wasn’t out by Sunday, they would return with a better plan and possibly more people.

Saturday dragged by, and Beckner slept through most of it trying to recover. Sunday came, and Daisy was still not out.

Beckner met with Monica and Weston Hennion to form a new game plan. He called the owner and told him they were getting Daisy out that day if she was still alive. Around 11:30 a.m., Weston and Beckner entered the cave to assess the situation and confirm she was still alive. They exited to refine their plan.

They decided the passage needed to be enlarged to make working easier. Around 1:00 p.m., Monica arrived to assist. They assembled a drag-bucket system and added a full-size garden rake and a small hand shovel to our tools.

When they went back in, saying Weston was wide open would be an understatement. In just a couple of hours, they widened the passage from barely fitting to being able to lie nearly on their sides and work comfortably. Around 5:00 p.m., they were close enough to touch Daisy, though more passage work was still needed.

At around 6:00 p.m., they finally made it. They prepared for extraction. Weston grabbed Daisy and maneuvered her out of the tight area. He backed out a few feet before she could stand. She then tried to run him over to get past him.

 

 

Unbeknownst to them, she wasn’t trying to escape the cave, she was after the chicken tenders and biscuit they had placed about 15 feet away to lure her out. Weston reached the turn where the food was, which also happened to be their turnaround point. Daisy tore into the bag and inhaled them.

Weston then handed her off to Beckner, and he guided her down the passage to the small stream, where she finally got a much-needed drink of water. He positioned me between her and the deeper passages, then let her go. She ran out of the cave and was reunited with her owner.

Despite being trapped for three and a half days without food or water, Daisy was happy, energetic, and soaking up all the love and pets once we exited. The relief was overwhelming. They all took a deep breath knowing she was finally out and safe.