A Tremonton Scout leader died inside Logan Cave Saturday after falling from a ledge during an excursion with a group of teenage boys.
At a forked path in the cave's Crystal Room, Charles Johnson, 39, backtracked from the head of the exploration line to assist two scouts hesitant to cross a rope bridge about noon. After reaching the boys, Johnson lost his footing and fell 8 feet - striking his head on the cave floor, according to Cache County Sheriff Sid Groll.Johnson's brother-in-law, Ronald Ashton, attempted to revive the Thiokol engineer, who had stopped breathing and was bleeding from the head, for more than an hour. Another adult left the cave for help.
It took almost three and a half hours for Cache County Search and Rescue teams to remove Johnson from the treacherous cavern, located 10 miles east of Logan. He was not breathing and had no pulse.
"Extracting Mr. Johnson from the cave was very exhausting for rescue crews," Groll said. "Although the cave is right off the highway up Logan Canyon, once inside you have to go over boulders, under hanging ledges, and through water."
Groll added that Johnson's fall was the third accident in the cave this year, but only the second fatality in 25 years.
Johnson and Ashton were leading 14 youths from their LDS Church wards through the cave - including Johnson's 15-year-old son.
Family members say Johnson was an experienced spelunker who had explored Logan Cave in the past.
"The area of the cave where the group was at was very open - Charles did not feel it was dangerous," said Johnson's sister, Vicki Ashton.