Clear Creek, West Virginia
In December 2018, just a couple of weeks before Christmas, the small rural town of Clear Creek, West Virginia, made headlines all across the country.
An extremely incredible story left the whole town shook. In fact, many referred to this bizarre event as a true "Christmas Miracle". But what happened?
Adventure Time
It all started when some friends named Kayla Williams, Eddie Williams, Erica Treadway, and Cody Beverly met up and came up with a very unusual plan.
For these teenagers, growing up in Clear Creak was far from thrilling. They were tired of living in the middle of nowhere and they felt they had run out of fun things to do. All they wanted was to embark on an interesting adventure...
Sneaking Out
After thinking it through, they decided to sneak out of their homes and leave town on a Saturday night on their ATVs.
The group made their way through the nearby woods and continued deeper into the forest. Reckless as they were, they didn't reveal their destination to anyone. Can you guess where they were heading to?
A Far-Off Site
Eventually, they reached a deep pit in the middle of the forest, which they knew was one of the entrances to Elk Run Coal’s Rock House Powellton mine. That's right, that's the place where they were headed!
The mine had been abandoned for at least two years and was obviously labeled with countless "NO TRESSPASSING" signs. This made this adventure all the more tempting for them.
Into The Mines
If there is anything Blair Witch Project should have taught us, it's to at least to be cautious enough of letting people know where are you are headed to in case you ever choose to venture into the woods.
Certainly these friends weren't exactly witch-hunting, but breaking into an abandoned mine wasn't really much safer! The site was potentially dangerous, especially at night! But why had they chosen this mine?
Treasure Hunt
The abandoned mine hid an intriguing secret. In fact, many locals and tourists had tried sneaking into the mine throughout the past year. Can you guess why?
Rumor had it that the mine still held a decent amount of copper, even after operations were stopped. At that moment, job was scarce in Clear Creek and the price of copper had recently rocketed. So... you do the maths!
Looking For Some Easy Cash
To put it plainly, if you were looking for cash, having copper to sell was the way to go, and this was the main reason why these friends had ventured into the woods in the first place.
These teenagers had just recently finished high school but they were still unemployed. Desperate for earning some cash, they gambled it all on this quest.
A Maze In The Dark
Breaking into a mine without being familiar with the structure is already dangerous enough, but entering an ABANDONED mine is just crazy.
If on top of that, we take into account that it was pitch-black both outside AND INSIDE, it's easy to see why their plan was plain madness. How would they make it through the underground tunnels without getting lost?
No Way Out
Unsurprisingly, not only did the teens get lost, but they left no trail to find their way out, either. What a rookie mistake!
By the time they realized they were lost, they couldn't even tell which way they had originally come from. But what happened then?
No Food Or Water
The group had only intended to walk through the mine for a few hours at most, so they were definitely unprepared for the tragedy that awaited them. First and foremost, neither of them had brought any provisions with them such as food or water.
Apart from that, the group was using the flashlights on their cellphones to light their way, but those wouldn't stay on for more than a day! What next?
They Started To Panic
As soon as they realized the nightmare they had gotten themselves into, the group started to panic. Hours went by and neither of them could come up with a feasible plan to look for the exit.
Eventually, Eddie decided to part ways and find a way out on his own. He chose to rely on his own senses instead of blindly following the others, hoping to make it to the town and alert the police.
In Search For Water
But what did the rest of the group do once Eddie left? First, one of the girls suggested prioritizing the scarce amount of water they had left, which meant not drinking a single drop for the next few hours.
Next, they set out to look for a water source. Luckily for them, it wasn't long before they overheard the sound of running water at a distance, so they followed the sound in the middle of the pitch dark tunnels.
Hoping For A Miracle
Eventually, they managed to locate the source of the noise. Curiously, it was an old creek! As beggars can't be choosers, they knew they would have rely on that water source until help came on its way.
Putting all their faith in Eddie, they stayed put for a few days while praying for a miracle. But would Eddie make it?
Their Families Were Worried
Just as the three stranded teenagers were dead-scared while trapped inside the underground mine, their friends and families were equally worried.
Not hearing from them for two hole days, the teenagers' families were terrified. Neither of their kids had left any note or message, so they were all worried sick. How would the police know where to look for them in the first place?
Eddie Gets Out
While the whole town was looking for them, Eddie finally managed to solve the convoluted maze of underground tunnels and emerge back to the surface. All in all, it took him two days to find his way out.
Shockingly, the exit he found was different from the original entrance through which they had accessed the mine. The first thing he did was head to the nearest police station and seek help.
Tracking Them Down
You probably thought that finding the kids would be easy once everyone knew where they were. However, the mine was so enormous and it had so many entrances, that tracking them down proved to be quite a challenge!
Even though the police and the entire town set out to look for them, it took them four extra days to find the stranded teenagers. Can you believe it?
Endless Rescue Mission
In fact, tracing their vehicles proved difficult enough, let alone finding their true whereabouts!
Since the kids were nowhere to be found, the police ordered reinforcements to be brought sent from neighboring towns. But how and when did they find them?
The Miracle
Finally, on a Wednesday night, the miracle happened. The rescue teams finally surfaced with Kayla, Erica, and Cody!
As you can imagine, the kids were a mess inside out. The were covered with dirt and looked emaciated. Obviously, they were crying their eyes out in a mix of distress, relief, and sadness.
The Reunion
As expected, the moment the teens reunited with their families was extremely touching. Nobody could believe that they were all alive. The fact that neither of them had been injured was also a miracle.
"They said they are battered, but they're alive. That's all that matters", one of the officers said to the media shortly after. Now, it was time for them to eat and rest!
A Christmas Miracle
"They were all very lucky, and others that have entered the mine in the past haven’t been so fortunate", said a local police officer.
I bet these kids must've learned their lesson: always leave a note before sneaking out of home! If not, who knows whether you'll also be saved by a Christmas miracle!