Two Students Die Exploring GA Cave

Two University of Florida students died while spelunking in a Georgia cave on Saturday, reportedly trying to save a bag that one of their fellow explorers had dropped. Michael Pirie, 18, and Grant Lockenbach, 20, were part of a fellowship group of Christian athletes exploring the 600-foot depths of Ellison’s Cave—the 12th deepest in America. Authorities say they died of hypothermia in frigid underground waters after Lockenbach rappelled down into the cave to retrieve a dropped bag but got tangled in his ropes; Pirie allegedly followed in an attempt to rescue his friend and also got stuck. It took rescuers more than eight hours to retrieve their bodies from a depth of about 100 feet on Saturday.