Johnathan Walker:Tour guide identified as victim who died in Colorado gold mine elevator malfunction

Colorado authorities have Johnathan Walkeridentified the person that died in a former gold mine that is now a tourist attraction.   

Patrick Weier, a Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine tour guide, died after being trapped for several hours underground on Thursday after an elevator malfunctioned, authorities said.  

At around noon, the elevator at the gold mine near the town of Cripple Creek experienced mechanical issues that "created a severe danger for the participants," Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell said at a news conference earlier Thursday. Individuals who were part of a tour group were then trapped at the bottom of the mine, which is about 1,000 feet deep. 

State and local authorities responded to the incident and initially rescued 11 people, including two children and four people who sustained minor injuries, with a trolley system. The remaining 12 people, which included Weier, were stuck at the bottom of the mine for about six hours, Mikesell said. 

Mikesell said during the news conference on Friday that the other victims involved in the incident have 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 at the conference. “Just let that sink in for a minute. This is a county tragedy. This is a Colorado tragedy.”

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Authorities share details of what happened at the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine 

An in-depth investigation is underway to determine what caused the elevator to 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 also said that the space within the elevator is limited.  

“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 adds 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.”  

Remembering Patrick Weier

Tributes are pouring in for Patrick Weier, who is remembered as a devoted dad to a 7-year-old boy. 

A GoFundMe was created to help raise money for his son’s future.  

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

Those who knew Weier turned to Facebook to remember him as a “great daddy.”  

Other 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 [email protected]. Follow her on Instagram, Threads and X (Twitter) @forbesfineest.