Two Men Rescued from Cave after Overnight Search

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Tuesday, the Chattanooga Fire Department reported that Gabriel Vaughn and Robby Dobos were lost in a cave beneath Lookout Mountain.

The men were not found until 3:45 Wednesday morning.

After learning that two men had gone missing after going caving, several emergency services divisions began searching caves at the base of Lookout Mountain, yesterday evening.

Gabriel Vaughn and Robby Dobos, both in their early twenties, hadn’t been seen since Monday night, and were ill equipped for the for the conditions inside the cave.

“We were notified by CPD that there were missing persons. It took us a little while to pin down their exact location, where they were at, and then obviously far more time to finally make contact with them inside the cave and get them out of there,” said Chattanooga Fire Chief Phil Hyman.

The men were found a mile and a half inside the cave, which is intersected by railway lines.

Rail company Norfolk Southern stopped rail traffic along that route for the duration of the rescue.

“The missing parties were ultimately found in the furthest part away from the cave entrance, and were wet, and tired, and hungry, but they were able to walk out on their own,” said Chattanooga-Hamilton County Rescue Public Information Officer Cara Moore.

During the rescue, the family and friends of the missing men were allowed to stay near the scene at Calvary Chapel.

After the rescue operation, the men were found to be uninjured and were able to walk out of the cave on their own, but now they could be facing criminal charges for trespassing.

“I do know that Norfolk Southern was going to pursue charges for these individuals,” said Hyman.

For those who might be considering going caving, the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Rescue Service recommends preparation and caution.

“A really important part of a caving expedition is to have somebody who is not caving with you who knows where you are and knows the time that you’re supposed to be exiting the cave. In this case, the missing parties had friends who knew where they were and knew that they were overdue,” said Moore.

Vaughn, Dobos, and the rescue crews were all exhausted after last night’s effort, but all were happy the rescue was successful.