Teens Rescued From Abandoned Silo: One Arrest After Dangerous Fall

A teenager in Colorado suffered serious injuries after falling 30 feet into an abandoned missile silo, according to police. The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office said the 18-year-old fell into the underground silo in Deer Trail — about 45 minutes east of Denver — at 3.30 a.m. on Sunday.

According to a statement from the sheriff’s office, he and his buddies attempted to gain entry to the site by climbing through a damaged grate at the silo’s entrance.

The 18-year-old spent around five hours stuck inside the silo. Two of his pals stayed with him all night until rescuers arrived. He was taken from the silo around 8.30 a.m. and transferred to a hospital by Airlife Denver shortly before 9 a.m. with “serious injuries,”

The teenager is expected to survive.

According to the sheriff’s office, rescuers struggled to communicate with the stranded kids due to poor coverage at the scene and within the silo. Responding police discovered three teenagers within the silo, including the injured 18-year-old, and another five above ground. The group consisted of both guys and girls. Only two of the boys were eighteen. One was charged with third-degree criminal trespassing, and the injured kid could potentially face prosecution. The remaining adolescents were juveniles, according to the sheriff’s office.

According to officials, all of the kids involved attended Cherry Creek High School in the Denver metro region. Denver, the silo had been abandoned since the 1960s, and rescuers regarded it as one of the most difficult rescues they have ever carried out. Rescuers described the silo as a “mess” of “twisted metal, collapsed floors, and concrete pieces everywhere.”

One of the rescuers told the station that the adolescent was “lucky to be alive”.

According to 9 News, Colorado has six abandoned Titan missile silos located throughout the state. All of the facilities were designed to hold Titan 1 missiles, which were among the first intercontinental ballistic missiles developed by the United States. Each missile was meant to carry a nuclear warhead.

In 1965, the sites were deactivated, and the missiles within were removed.

The Deer Trail silo is currently privately owned. Jerry Linnebur, the owner, told 9 News that he posted multiple warning signs saying the silo was unsafe and that people should not enter, but that he still sees evidence of trespassing.

“You can see there’s been a lot of people down here,” Mr Linnebur said to 9 News at the time. “When you’re a youngster, you don’t consider [the risks]. It’s all fun and games for them.” The entrance of the silo is plastered in graffiti, including what looks to be a message reading “Welcome to Paradise.”

Reporters from 9 News went to the silo seven years ago. At the time, the owner stated that he intended to hide the entry because the place had grown too unsafe. He built a grate over the silo’s mouth, but it was eventually damaged, enabling potential explorers access to the location.

“It’s been painful. “We have people coming in here,” Mr Linnebur explained at the time. “Because of the responsibility that’s involved in this and keeping people out, it’s a pester to the people that live close by, so we’re gonna seal it up to where nobody can get into it.”

Ginger Delgado, Public Information Officer for the Arapaho County Sheriff’s Office, told The Independent that because the land is privately owned, Mr Linnebur would decide whether to re-seal the silo door.