CFD Thanks All Those Involved In Successful Rescue Mission

After hours of searching, two people lost inside an extensive cave were located! A large-scale search and rescue operation was underway for two missing men at the base of Lookout Mountain. Crews from Chattanooga and Hamilton County were looking for Gabriel Vaughn, 21, and Robby Dobos, 23. It was a complex operation due to the location as crews braved dark and dangerous conditions in an effort to find these two friends. Gabriel and Robby were last seen around 8pm Monday night when the two left to go explore caves. When they did not return, friends and family members became concerned and reported them missing to police. Then they started searching for them in different locations. Friends ended up locating Gabriel’s car in the parking lot of Walgreens on Broad Street around 4:30 Tuesday afternoon. They believed the two men were in nearby caves and went to look for them. When they did not find Gabriel and Robby, they contacted authorities and a search operation was launched. The cave is not open to the public for exploring. Drone operations went across the outside of the mountain searching and nothing was found. Teams thoroughly looked for the men down inside the cave. CFD, CPD, HCSTARs, HCOEM, Chattanooga-Hamilton County Rescue Service, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, Norfolk Southern Police, HCEMS, Highway 58 VFD and the Hamilton County 911 Incident Dispatch Unit took part in the operation. At approximately 3:45 AM Wednesday, personnel with the Hamilton County Cave and Cliff team made contact with both missing men. They were found in the farthest known part of the cave and were assisted out.

The Chattanooga Fire Department wants to thank all of the agencies involved in the search and rescue. Tremendous collaboration by first responders once again saved lives. Several teams went into the multi-level cave which is closed to the public and owned by the railroad. It is bisected by an active train tunnel. Inside, it is easy to become disoriented and the two parties made a wrong turn, taking them further into the cave. They were finally located by personnel with the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Rescue Service approximately 1.5 miles inside the cave at 3:45 AM Wednesday. They were cold, wet and hungry as they were not properly equipped for the environment, but they were able to walk out on their own with no injuries. The evacuation took several hours. They were evaluated by Hamilton County EMS and refused transport to the hospital. Rescue crews were exhausted, but glad that both parties were safe. Eighty-two personnel were involved in the operation.

“We greatly appreciate the teamwork by everyone involved and the seamless incident command system,” said Chattanooga Fire Chief Phil Hyman. “This all could have been avoided if these individuals had made more responsible choices. It put the lives of all of our crews at risk and it was very labor intensive. But it showed the compassion and dedication of our first responders and volunteers and in this case, there was a positive outcome.”

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