I have searched and haven't found an actual petition yet, but I did find this: I didn't see this posted, so I wanted to do so now. Sounds like that section should have been sealed already. Of course if there's a body left, that section should be sealed. I am opposed to the closing of the entire cave. However, I also feel sad for all the future explorers. I have been watching this from the beginning. I'm 100% confident that this rescue failure will be examined in minute detail, and if any changes to policy and procedures need to be made, they will be. If I were stuck in a cave I would want no other team to respond. They do an excellent job, and have successfully responded to many calls. Lastly, our cave search and rescue team is 100% volunteer, and is of world class quality. They have been trying to get it closed for years, and they weren't going to let this opportunity pass. It sounds like the family did not initially want the cave closed, but were pressured into it by the Sherrif's Department. There is certainly room for discussion about whether mutiple anchors could have and should have been used, to prevent this accident. Most of the walls are a little soft (hence the name) and it would be difficult to get a strong and reliable anchor in them. The position he fell back into compressed his chest, and he could not breath (or could only take shallow breaths). The single anchor did fail, and he did fall a small distance back down. There was still a long way to go to get him out. They managed to pull him back out a little bit, enough to get access to his feet. Supposedly there is a risk of rescuers getting similarly stuck just getting to where he is. That's the excuse for "the rescue being too dangerous". There are very tight squeezes just to get to where he was. He thought he did know what was at the bottom, but it turns out he was in a small dead-end passage.
He thought he was in Bob's Push, but was mistaken. He was the real deal, but he made a couple mistakes that cost him his life. First, the victim was an experienced caver and an NSS member. My dad is heavily involved in the caving community, and he got the story from folks that were there. So, I got a little more reliable information this morning.