An unusual rescue sent an El Dorado County Fire Protection District crew down a 100-year-old mine shaft in the Camino foothills.
Even in Gold Country, this was a first. Firefighters were called to the rescue after a U.S. Department of Agriculture tracker, looking for a mountain lion reportedly attacking livestock, lost one of his tracking dogs, then discovered it using a GPS collar, underground, in a hole, down a mineshaft.
“Yeah, GPS attached to it. He got pretty close to the hole, heard some whimpering, and then kind of turned around and noticed there was a huge hole behind him,” El Dorado County firefighter Adam Wilson said.
“I’m assuming the dog picked up a scent and as it was going and it just fell right through that hole,” El Dorado County Fire firefighter Stephen Ramirez said.
The mine shaft was 50 feet deep.