PAIR RESCUED FROM OLD NUKE SILO; SECOND INCIDENT IN LESS THAN WEEK

Rescuers saved a man and woman trapped in an abandoned nuclear missile silo in Arapahoe County early Tuesday - the second such trespassing case in less than a week.
Deputies on patrol found a 19-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman inside the Cold-War era silo, and two autos parked nearby. The careless explorers were about 60 feet beneath surface. "The man was able to climb out using a rope ladder, but the woman was unable to make it back up," the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office said. "Sable Altura Fire Rescue responded and safely rescued the woman." The two were issued summonses for second-degree criminal trespass at the former U.S. Air Force launch facility, which operated in the early 1960s just east of Denver. The sheriff's office said: "Restricted properties and underground confined spaces, like this missile silo, are extremely dangerous. Hidden hazards, unstable conditions, toxic gases, and deep vertical shafts can quickly turn exploration into a life-threatening emergency." Last Wednesday, a woman, age 18, was rescued from an abandoned missile silo.

[Photos: Arapahoe County Sheriff]