Utahns rejoiced over the rescue this week of 10-year-old Joshua Dennis when he was found alive and well after being lost for five days inside the maze of an abandoned mine in the Oquirrh Mountains.
The rescue was especially poignant since it came at a time when searchers were losing hope and talking about sealing off the mine to prevent others from entering.Impromptu neighborhood parties were held in Kearns this week to celebrate Joshua's survival and more are scheduled when the courageous youngster is released from the hospital where he is being held for observation.
Joshua became lost Sept. 22 when he entered the mine with a group of Boy Scouts. Left briefly without a light, he wandered in the total darkness, finally scrambling up a steep slope and ending in a small cavelike ledge about 150 above one of the tunnels.
The boy stayed put in the darkness, which was the right thing to do. Unfortunately, the ledge was not visible from below and repeated searches through the miles of tunnels failed to find any trace of the boy, whose faint cries were not heard or failed to coincide with the passing of search teams.
It was the refusal of searchers to quit that was rewarded in the end as crews - particularly the tireless Utah Power and Light Mine Rescue Team - insisted on going into the mine "just one more time."
As events proved, it was the right thing to do. In life and death matters, any hope, no matter how slender, should be followed to the bitter end.
As is always the case in these potential tragedies involving a child, there was a huge outpouring of emotion. Relatives, friends, neighbors and strangers all volunteered their help. Many took time off from work. One employer paid his men while they left work to help in the search. Others not directly involved offered prayers. In many ways, the experience showed people at their very best - kind, car-ing, helpful, self-sacrificing.
They offered what they could without thought of reward. The discovery of Joshua alive was payment in full.
This whole experience shows the dangers in abandoned mines. There are more than 5,000 of them in Utah and each is a potential site for a tragedy. Such mines are not proper places to go exploring. It was a mistake for adults to lead the boys into the empty Hidden Treasure mine in Tooele County. Probably no one realizes it better than they do.
But abandoned mines - and they are found in foothills all around the highly urbanized Salt Lake Valley - are like magnets for young people who might stumble across them. Saying "stay out" is hardly going to be enough protection.
Since 1975, Utah law has required operators to seal the entrances to mine shafts when they stop working a site. But there are thousands of empty mines that date back to before that time. A federal safety program offers about $750,000 a year, hardly enough to make discernible progress in sealing 5,000 open mine shafts. The work is often expensive.
Utah lawmakers ought to consider providing additional support so that mines, particularly around urban areas, can be sealed as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the next youngster to enter a tunnel might not be as fortunate as Joshua.