Race is on to rescue Croton-on-Hudson man stuck in Turkish cave almost a mile underground

Kyle Morel, Rockland/Westchester Journal News
Updated ·4 min read
2

A international rescue effort is racing to help the head of a North Jersey-based cave rescue group who remains deep in a Turkish cave after falling ill last week.

Mark Dickey, chief of the Sussex County-based New Jersey Initial Response Team, and Croton-on-Hudson resident, has been trapped about two-thirds of a mile (more than 1,000 meters) underground in Turkey's Morca cave since Aug. 31, according to a Facebook post from the organization and reports from the Turkish government.

The 40-year-old was assisting in the cave's exploration when he began experiencing intestinal problems, which "rapidly progressed into life-threatening bleeding and vomiting," the post stated.

The sickness has left Dickey unable to move through the cold, wet cave under his own power, the NJIRT said. It takes roughly eight hours for experienced cavers to reach him, and the communication between rescuers at ground level and Dickey's location is slow because phone lines in the cave have become inoperable.

Rescue efforts are ongoing to help Mark Dickey, chief of the New Jersey Initial Response Team, who has been stuck more than 1,000 meters deep in Turkey's Morca cave since falling ill last week.
Rescue efforts are ongoing to help Mark Dickey, chief of the New Jersey Initial Response Team, who has been stuck more than 1,000 meters deep in Turkey's Morca cave since falling ill last week.

Turkish military leading cave rescue

A GoFundMe created to assist rescue efforts for Dickey had raised more than $46,000 of its $100,000 goal as of Thursday afternoon. Rescue groups from Turkey, Italy, Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria and Poland are among the organizations offering their services at the scene, according to the donation page.

The Turkish military is coordinating efforts to send water and other resources to the remote location. Other rescuers are preparing a temporary camp 700 meters (about a half-mile) into the cave to move Dickey, while demolition teams are enlarging tiny crawl spaces so he can pass through on a stretcher.

Doctors reached Dickey on Tuesday and provided him with fresh blood and fluids, according to the NJIRT Facebook post. Their care led to a marked improvement in his condition as of 11 a.m. Thursday, said Gretchen Baker, national coordinator for the National Cave Rescue Commission.

"Mark is now doing better, and may be able to help more in his rescue than was thought (on Wednesday)," Baker said. "This could substantially reduce the amount of time needed to get him out of the cave."

An operation is underway to rescue American speleologist Mark Dickey, who became ill while exploring Turkey's Morca cave complex.
An operation is underway to rescue American speleologist Mark Dickey, who became ill while exploring Turkey's Morca cave complex.

Dickey speaks via video message

In a video message from inside the cave and made available Thursday by Turkey’s communications directorate, Dickey thanked the caving community and the Turkish government for their efforts.

“Hi! Mark Dickey from nearly a thousand meters,” Dickey said. “The caving world is a really tight-knit group and it’s amazing to see how many people have responded on the surface.

“We’re still waiting for communications actually to reach down here. So right now it’s a day or two days of travel for information to get back and forth. I don’t quite know what’s happened, but I do know that the quick response of the Turkish government to get the medical supplies that I need, in my opinion, saved my life. I was very close to the edge.”

Dickey lives in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, according to colleagues. He's described on the GoFundMe page as "a well-known figure in the international speleological (caving) community" who has taken part in many rescues himself as an instructor with the National Cave Rescue Commission. In 2021, he was part of a team that saved a dog who had been trapped for five days in a cave in New York's Minnewaska State Park Preserve.

A rescuer is need of rescue

In an interview with the New Jersey Herald following that rescue, Dickey, a firefighter and EMS worker, said he joined the NJIRT because he had always enjoyed climbing in his spare time.

"Caving was just one of those sports that was exciting and I was drawn to," he said, "and so I essentially married the rescue side of the world to the sports side of the world."

An operation is underway to rescue American speleologist Mark Dickey, who became ill while exploring Turkey's Morca cave complex.
An operation is underway to rescue American speleologist Mark Dickey, who became ill while exploring Turkey's Morca cave complex.

The NJIRT used its elevated publicity from the dog rescue to remind the public of the potential dangers in cave exploration if they are not experienced. The organization's hope, Dickey said, is for fellow cavers to be properly trained so the team's services are not needed.

"The goal is that everyone is safe, including the rescuers, and everyone gets to go home at the end of the day," he said.

Now, cave rescuers are using that same training to try to get Dickey home.

This article includes material from the Associated Press.

Kyle Morel is a local reporter covering Morris and Sussex counties.

Email: kmorel@njherald.com; Twitter: @KMorelNJH

This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Mark Dickey rescue: NY explorer trapped in Turkish cave