An absolute nightmare situation unfolded on May 17th when a man became stuck in a narrow section of a cave in New York.

This incident unfolded at Merlins Cave in Canaan, New York, when the victim and 4 friends, all of whom are experienced cavers, began exploring the cave.

The group made it to a particularly narrow section nicknamed “The Beartrap” when the victim became stuck. The ceiling is only 12 inches from the floor in this section.
It quickly became apparent that this was an emergency, and one friend crawled out of the cave and called 911.

The call went out at 6:30 p.m. and it would take until 9 p.m. before a rescue team could be assembled and arrive.

The temperature inside of the cave was 50 degrees, with 100 percent humidity. These conditions made hypothermia a significant risk for the man that was trapped and unable to move.

Forest Ranger, Lt. Jim Gullen, who led the rescue mission, said, “He was really jammed in there, more than I expected. It was like his full body was stuck in a crevice that was basically designed to the exact shape of him.”

That sounds like a nightmare.

The crew quickly got to work using straps and, over the course of three hours of nonstop work, had moved the victim 6 to 10 inches.

However, at this point, a nub of rock halted their efforts. The decision was made to attempt to remove the nub, and a drill, hammer, and chisel had to be retrieved.

After receiving the tools and some very precarious work, only inches from the victim’s head, the nub finally broke free. The victim was able to squirm free at that point, ending his nightmare.

The entire ordeal lasted six hours. Everyone involved commended the victim for his calm and poise throughout his predicament.

Great job, everyone.

Thanks to Steve Featherstone for letting the public know this happened.

Be safe during this summer’s activities, everyone.

RESCUE TEAM HAD TO DRILL ROCK RIGHT NEXT TO VICTIM’S HEAD: Horrifying details of the New York cave entrapment.

Cave accidents have always carried a primal human fear: darkness, isolation, cramped space, and the feeling that even a small mistake could turn an adventure into a tragedy. But the rescue at Merlin’s Cave in Canaan, New York, on the night of May 17th sent shivers down the spines of even seasoned cave explorers. This wasn’t simply a typical entrapment. It was a six-hour battle between humans and rock, time, the cold, and the greatest fear many admit they never wanted to imagine: being trapped underground, unable to move even a few centimeters. ([Talk of the Sound][1])

The victim was a man from Brooklyn, New York. He and four friends—all experienced cave explorers—entered Merlin’s Cave on a weekend expedition. This wasn’t the kind of cave for mainstream tourists. Merlin’s Cave was famous in the spelunking community for its narrow tunnels, low-lying crawls, and many areas barely wide enough for one person to squeeze through. Those who had been there knew the most terrifying name in the cave: “The Beartrap.” And that’s what turned a routine trip into a nightmare lasting hours. ([Talk of the Sound][1])

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“The Beartrap” wasn’t a room or a chasm. It was an extremely narrow passage where the ceiling was only about 12 inches—less than 31 centimeters—from the ground. People had to press their bodies against the cold rock, almost crawling on their chests and hips. There was no room to turn around. There was no room to change position. Just a wrong slip or loss of balance could cause the body to become locked between the rocks like a natural mechanical lock.

According to rescuers, the man slipped while trying to squeeze through the area. The slip caused his body to fall deeper into a narrow crevice below. The terrifying thing was that the shape of the crevice was almost a perfect fit for the man’s body. Forest Ranger Lt. John Gullen later described the victim as being “completely trapped in a crevice that seemed to be precisely shaped to his form.” ([Talk of the Sound][1])

Initially, the group thought they could rescue their friend themselves. But the more they tried to pull him out, the deeper his body was squeezed. His ribs and hips were locked by a protruding rock ledge. After a few minutes, everyone realized this was no longer a situation that could be handled with normal human strength. One member of the team had to crawl back out to call 911. The emergency call was made around 6:30 p.m. But rescuing someone in a cave is not like rescuing on the surface. Just assembling the professional response team took hours. ([Talk of the Sound][1])

Meanwhile, inside the cave, the temperature was only about 10 degrees Celsius with nearly 100% humidity. This is an extremely dangerous environment for someone immobilized—unable to move. When the body doesn’t generate heat through movement, body temperature can drop rapidly. Making matters worse, the victim was squeezed tightly between rocks on both his back and chest, making it impossible for the rescue team to even insert insulating padding underneath him to keep him warm. “Hypothermia was almost certain,” Gullen said afterward. ([Talk of the Sound][1])

Around 9 p.m., the rescue team, consisting of park rangers from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and members of the National Cave Rescue Commission, finally reached the scene. But even reaching the victim proved to be an enormous challenge. The distance from the cave entrance to the interior was only about 400 feet, but it took nearly 20 minutes to crawl through the extremely narrow passages. The friends who had stayed with the victim for hours earlier were now beginning to show signs of hypothermia. ([Talk of the Sound][1])

Seeing the victim’s predicament firsthand, the rescue team immediately understood that this could become a multi-day operation. In fact, in the history of cave rescues, many entrapment operations have taken dozens of hours, even days, to resolve. There have been cases where victims died before being pulled out. And that’s why Gullen’s story sends chills down many people’s spines: even he had told his wife before entering the cave that he “didn’t know when he’d be back.” ([Talk of the Sound][1])

The following hours were a brutal struggle in the extremely tight space. The rescue team used harnesses and manual pulling techniques to try to move the victim’s body. After nearly two hours of relentless effort, they had only managed to pull about 6 to 10 inches. Then everything stopped. A small protruding rock ledge had locked the victim’s ribs and back. Without breaking it, no one could get out. ([Talk of the Sound][1])

The decision then was extremely dangerous: they had to bring a drill into the cave and drill through the rock right next to the victim’s head.

Two rescuers had to go back to get a hammer drill, a hammer, and a chisel. Moving the equipment…

Getting through “The Beartrap” was almost another nightmare. While waiting, Gullen stayed by the victim’s side to keep him conscious. They talked, told jokes, tried to maintain a positive spirit. “I kept telling him that we would definitely get him out,” Gullen recalled. And what amazed everyone was that the victim barely panicked. He kept giving a thumbs-up sign to indicate he was stable, even though he had been trapped for hours in the freezing darkness. ([Talk of the Sound][1])

The moment the rescue team began drilling was the most breathtaking part of the entire operation. The drill was operating just inches from the victim’s head and back. A single mistake could cause serious injury. In the cramped space, every maneuver was limited. There was no room to retreat. No angle to correct mistakes. Every drill stroke had to be absolutely precise. ([https://www.wwnytv.com][2])

After about 20 minutes of intense drilling and chiseling, the rock finally broke free.

“That’s all it took,” Gullen recounted. And then the miracle happened: the man began to turn, crawl, and escape from the crevice that had trapped him for six hours. ([Talk of the Sound][1])

When brought out, the victim was still able to walk on his own, although he was hypothermic and needed hot water and food. The entire operation ended around 2:18 a.m. No one died. No serious injuries. But what happened inside Merlin’s Cave that night immediately shocked the American cave exploration community.

Because this incident was not just a personal accident. It also exposed the terrifying fragility of humanity in the face of extreme underground spaces.

For many years, the spelunking community has been plagued by a paradox. Cave enthusiasts seek the most primal sense of adventure: places without cell phone signals, artificial light, or modern escape routes. But this very “primitive” nature makes rescue efforts far more difficult in case of an accident. A minor injury in the city can be treated in minutes. But in a cave, simply reaching a victim requires a complex logistical operation.

Even more alarming is that Merlin’s Cave has been mentioned in safety management documents for years as a location with a very high risk of entrapment, particularly in the Beartrap area. Documents from the Northeastern Cave Conservancy even warned that a rescue in this area would be “seriously problematic” due to low crawl sections, loose rock, and extremely narrow passages. ([Northeastern Cave Conservancy][3])

In other words, what happened on the night of May 17th was the scenario that experts had long feared.

Following the incident, much debate erupted on exploration forums. Some argued that access to these types of caves should be restricted. Others countered, saying that risk is part of spelunking and that participants understand that. But even the most experienced cavers admitted that this entrapment struck at their deepest fears.

Not the fear of darkness.

Not the fear of getting lost.

But the fear of being “swallowed” alive by rocks.

Because when trapped in such a confined space, time begins to distort. The body aches from being unable to change position. Cold seeps into every muscle. Each breath becomes more difficult. And the most terrifying thing is the thought that if the rescue team hadn’t arrived in time, you would have died in silence underground, where almost no one would have heard your cries for help.

That’s why many see this not only as a successful rescue, but also as rare proof that everything went right at the right time. If the rescue team had arrived later. If the drill hadn’t worked. If the rock formation hadn’t broken properly. If the victim had panicked and lost control during the drilling… the outcome could have been completely different.

After all, what astonished the public most was not only the skill of the rescue team but also the almost extraordinary calmness of the victim. Six hours trapped in a freezing, immobile rock crevice, hearing the drilling noise right above his head in absolute darkness—that’s an experience that would break many people’s spirits in just a few minutes of imagining.

But he survived.

And perhaps that’s why the story of Merlin’s Cave is spreading not just as a summer sensation, but as a chilling reminder of the thin line between adventure and disaster — a line sometimes separated by just… a 12-inch gap in the rock. ([Talk of the Sound][1])

[1]: https://talkofthesound.com/2026/05/24/new-york-man-rescued-from-merlins-cave-after-6-hour-ordeal/?utm_source=chatgpt.com “New York Man Rescued from Merlin’s Cave After 6-Hour Ordeal – Talk of the Sound”
[2]: https://www.wwnytv.com/2026/05/21/ny-forest-ranger-describes-rescue-man-trapped-cave/?utm_source=chatgpt.com “NY Forest ranger describes rescue of man trapped in cave”
[3]: https://www.necaveconservancy.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Merlins_Management_Plan.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com “MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR MERLINS CAVE PRESERVE