Victim Killed in Colorado Gold Mine Tour Accident Identified as Tour Guide

Emergency personnel stage outside the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine in Cripple Creek, Colo., on Oct. 10, 2024. Arthur Trickette-Wile/The Gazette via AP

The individual who died in an elevator malfunction that left 23 people trapped for hours in a Colorado gold mine on Oct. 10 has been identified as a mine tour guide, local authorities said on Oct. 11.

Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell told reporters that the victim was Patrick Weier, a 46-year-old tour guide at the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine, where the incident took place.

The sheriff described Weier as “a good man” and a member of the community who loved his job. Weier is survived by his 7-year-old child.

“We did lose a person in our local community who will be missed, who is the father of a child and has family in the area,” Mikesell said during a press conference on Oct. 11.

The elevator experienced a mechanical failure at about 500 feet beneath the surface on Oct. 10. Mikesell said Weier was among the 11 people who were initially brought out of the mine on the elevator.

The circumstances surrounding Weier’s death are still being investigated. Four people sustained minor injuries, although it remains unclear how they were injured, according to local authorities.

“My feelings are that he was attempting to make everybody safe. I don’t know what occurred, though. I think our investigation will come out with that,” the sheriff said.

“But I do know that, for us and what it looks like, he may have been a hero from the beginning.”

Twelve others were stranded for about six hours at 1,000 feet down the mine before being rescued. Mikesell said they were only told that there was “a simple elevator issue” to keep them calm until they were brought back to surface.

“We made the ultimate decision not to tell them what was occurring at 500 foot and the surface,” he said. “We knew we couldn’t help them if there was a medical emergency.

“If we would have had an anxiety issue or a heart attack because of the stress of it, you’re at a thousand feet and there’s no way up until we get the elevator up and running.”

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the incident, according to the sheriff. Mikesell said an issue occurred with the doors at 500 feet down the mine, but what caused the issue remains unknown.

The Mollie Kathleen Mine in Cripple Creek operates tours that take visitors 100 stories underground. The family-owned mine stated on its website that it would remain closed until further notice.

The original mine was opened in the 1800s and ceased operations in the 1960s. Cripple Creek, a town of about 1,100 people, is located southwest of Colorado Springs.

Caden Pearson and the Associated Press contributed to this report.