The man who found his friend hollering for help in an abandoned gold mine shaft in Arizona's desert says his buddy is an amateur prospector who hunts ore for fun and a few bucks.
Terry Shrader says the mine where the accident occurred Monday is among several on a 100-acre claim his friend John Waddell has on Bureau of Land Management Property about 90 miles outside Phoenix. Shrader says the 60-year-old Waddell entered the mine searching for gold when he lost control of his descent and fell 100 feet.
Shrader says Waddell fought off three rattlesnakes and went two days without food or water before Shrader found him Wednesday. He was airlifted to a Phoenix hospital, where he underwent surgery for two broken legs.
