Schroeder's Pants Cave
NATURE · CAVE
Schroeder's Pants Cave
Nature
Schroeder's Pants Cave, near Goodell Corners in Herkimer County, New York, was first explored in the 1950s by Dolgeville high school teachers Herbert W. Schroeder and George A. Buck, and took its name from an early mishap in which Schroeder tore his pants. The cave became notable for a 1965 tragedy when James G. Mitchell of Manheim died of hypothermia after becoming stranded on a rope in a 75-foot pit beneath a frigid waterfall. A costly three-day recovery effort, which even brought in a rescue team on Air Force Two, failed after repeated setbacks and a partial collapse, and the cave was blasted shut until Mitchell's remains were recovered forty-one years later.
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Dolgeville, New York
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