Searchers scouring Wisconsin mine ‘maze’ for missing boys

Authorities in Dodge County have focused their search for three missing boys on a mine near Iron Ridge.

The sheriff’s department identified the teens as Tate Rose and Zachary Heron, both 16, and 15-year-old Samuel Lein.

Sheriff Dale Schmidt says that while they’re not positive the boys are in the mine, deputies and firefighters are trying to secure the mine so they can search it. Rescuers told reporters that parts of the mine were flooded with as much as 8 feet of water.

The all-night search for the teens involved about 100 people, along with dogs and thermal imaging, the Associated Press reported. He said they were uninjured, apart from some bumps and scrapes, and returned to their parents. But Schmidt offered no other information about the boys being found. They boys said that when their flashlight and lighter ran out, they stayed in the dark until help arrived.

Dodge County is a largely rural county northeast of Madison, the state capital.

The mine is now owned by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, which conducts bat research at the site.

The property is marked with no trespassing signs, Schmidt said.