Rochester, N.Y. --- Three people trapped in a cave 75-feet above the Genesee River Tuesday afternoon were on a Geocaching hunt.
The 24 year-old woman and her father (53 years-old) and mother (46 years-old) were rescued by about two dozen Rochester Firefighters who used ropes and pulleys to raise each about fifty feet to safety.
Geocaching is a real-world GPS treasure hunting game that is played by thousands if not millions worldwide. The objective is to locate various cache’s that can be something as ordinary as a pen or notepad or more elaborate boxes with toys, tools, trinkets, or instructions to do a certain task. When one locates their desired cache they log it online at geocaching websites.
The particular target of this geocaching expedition appears to be “The Orc’s Treasure” according to this geocaching website. It is described as being a 30-cal ammo box with a VHS tape, a knife, flashlight, and other objects inside.
Tuesday afternoon while fire crews were in the midst of rescuing the trapped family a post from one geocache seeker on this particular site read, “Just saw a news flash bulletin that ‘people were trapped in a cave’ near ‘Seth Green Drive’ and that ‘ER Personnel were at the scene’ – gosh I hope this is not a group of geocache seekers caught inside this lair!”
Later that day a reply to that post appears to come from one of the three people trapped.
“Yes we were indeed looking for the geocache before a storm hit & water quickly rushed up to our waists. All three of us made it out safely with the assistance of many first responders. For future cachers, if it's raining...get out quick!”
