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Break-in at Kartchner Caverns
Derek Jordan
wick news
The Cochise County Sheriff's Office is investigating a break-in at the caves at Kartchner Caverns State Park in which a number of calcite formations appear to have been damaged and the doors protecting the ecosystems were left open.
Park personnel contacted the sheriff's office at about 7:30 a.m. Monday to report the break-in. When they arrived, deputies discovered that a person or persons forced their way into the caverns and into the areas known as the "Tarantula Room" and the "Big Room," said Carol Capas, spokeswoman for the sheriff's office.
Evidence at the scene suggests that the intruders left the marked trails inside the caverns and walked into the mud overflow stone formations and through an area known as the "Strawberry passage." An area of straw stalactites also appears to have been damaged.
The break-in occurred sometime after park personnel completed their daily inspections of the caverns the evening before.
"Our cave crew was in there until 8 p.m.," said Ellen Bilbrey, public information officer for Arizona State Parks.
A tremendous effort goes into keeping the living ecosystem of the caverns as healthy as possible, Bilbrey said.
Any surface of the caverns that comes into contact with a tourist is marked and cleaned each day, so as not to harm the continuing growth of the formations within the caverns, she said.
A series of airtight doors helps maintain a temperature of about 70 degrees and a humidity level of 99 percent. Some of these doors remained open for hours as a result of the break-in.
"This kind of vandalism is just uncalled for," she said.
Kartchner Caverns is known for its wide array and amount of stalactites, stalagmites and other formations, Bilbrey said.
"It's one of the top 10 caves in the world for calcite formations," she said. Such formations can easily take hundreds of years to form, she said.
The extent and severity of the damage caused from the break-in will not be clear until after a survey by scientists with Arizona State Parks, which was scheduled for yesterday.
The Cochise County Sheriff's Office is following a number of investigative leads and items of evidence found at the scene, Capas said.
The break-in will not disrupt scheduled tours.
or hours of operation for Kartchner Caverns State Park, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary Nov. 7.
wick news
The Cochise County Sheriff's Office is investigating a break-in at the caves at Kartchner Caverns State Park in which a number of calcite formations appear to have been damaged and the doors protecting the ecosystems were left open.
Park personnel contacted the sheriff's office at about 7:30 a.m. Monday to report the break-in. When they arrived, deputies discovered that a person or persons forced their way into the caverns and into the areas known as the "Tarantula Room" and the "Big Room," said Carol Capas, spokeswoman for the sheriff's office.
Evidence at the scene suggests that the intruders left the marked trails inside the caverns and walked into the mud overflow stone formations and through an area known as the "Strawberry passage." An area of straw stalactites also appears to have been damaged.
The break-in occurred sometime after park personnel completed their daily inspections of the caverns the evening before.
"Our cave crew was in there until 8 p.m.," said Ellen Bilbrey, public information officer for Arizona State Parks.
A tremendous effort goes into keeping the living ecosystem of the caverns as healthy as possible, Bilbrey said.
Any surface of the caverns that comes into contact with a tourist is marked and cleaned each day, so as not to harm the continuing growth of the formations within the caverns, she said.
A series of airtight doors helps maintain a temperature of about 70 degrees and a humidity level of 99 percent. Some of these doors remained open for hours as a result of the break-in.
"This kind of vandalism is just uncalled for," she said.
Kartchner Caverns is known for its wide array and amount of stalactites, stalagmites and other formations, Bilbrey said.
"It's one of the top 10 caves in the world for calcite formations," she said. Such formations can easily take hundreds of years to form, she said.
The extent and severity of the damage caused from the break-in will not be clear until after a survey by scientists with Arizona State Parks, which was scheduled for yesterday.
The Cochise County Sheriff's Office is following a number of investigative leads and items of evidence found at the scene, Capas said.
The break-in will not disrupt scheduled tours.
or hours of operation for Kartchner Caverns State Park, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary Nov. 7.
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