Tour Guide Dies After Elevator Malfunction at Colorado Mine

Colorado authorities have identified the victim of a tragic accident at the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine as Patrick Weier, a tour guide. Weier died after being trapped underground for several hours on Thursday following an elevator malfunction, authorities said.

At around noon, the elevator at the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine near Cripple Creek experienced mechanical issues that "created a severe danger for the participants," Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell stated at a news conference. The incident left a tour group stranded at the bottom of the 1,000-foot-deep mine.

State and local authorities responded and initially rescued 11 people, including two children and four individuals with minor injuries, using a trolley system. The remaining 12 people, including Weier, were trapped for about six hours, Mikesell confirmed.

At a news conference on Friday, Mikesell reported that the other victims suffered minor injuries.

“Teller County has about 30,000 people or a little less. The community this gentleman came from has less than 400 people in it. The neighboring town of Cripple Creek has about 1200 people in it,” Teller County Commissioner Dan Williams said. “Just let that sink in for a minute. This is a county tragedy. This is a Colorado tragedy.”

Details of the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine Incident

An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the elevator malfunction.

“We know that at 500 feet is where the issue occurred. We know that there was some type of an incident with the doors, and at that point, something went wrong," Mikesell said. "We don't know what caused that. We don't know how it happened.”

Mikesell noted that the elevator's limited space added to the difficulty.

“If you've ever seen these elevators, they’re not very big. So about four to six people is about all you can get in it, depending on size. So it's pretty tight,” he said. “Really we don't know at the 500-foot level whether it dropped or didn't drop. Some of the reports we had in the initial that had dropped, it may have bound, but really we don't know.”

The sheriff emphasized that the mine is a family-owned business.

“This family that runs that mining operation, or that tourist operation, they're good people,” he said. “They've been doing it for, I believe, 60 years, and this was just a very tragic event that occurred.”

Tributes Pour in for Patrick Weier

Patrick Weier is remembered as a devoted father to a 7-year-old boy. A GoFundMe page has been created to support his son’s future.

“Every contribution no matter how small will make a big difference," Weier’s brother John wrote. "We appreciate your kindness and generosity and helping us honor my brother's memory by caring for the most important part of his legacy."

Friends and family took to Facebook to remember Weier as a “great daddy.”

Tributes on social media called him a “hero” and a “light in a dark, dark world.”

Contributing: Fernando Cervantes Jr. and Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY.

Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, lottery, and public policy stories. Email her at aforbes@gannett.com. Follow her on Instagram, Threads, and X (Twitter) @forbesfineest.