Man who climbed out of cave with his bare hands to get help for relatives stuck inside: 'It was either do or die'
An overnight trip inside a cave in Virginia turned into a daring one-man escape and then a rescue mission for five others who remained inside.
"It would've been really bad or someone probably would've died," said David "Andrew" Webb, who used his bare hands to climb out of the cave early Sunday morning and get help.
Webb, 22, of Lebanon, Virginia, told ABC News on Monday that the group of six men -- which included his father, brother and uncle -- had reached the cave area in Cleveland, Virginia, known locally as the Cyclops Cave, Friday around 7:30 p.m. The group had planned to return Saturday night, he said.
Webb said that his wife, mother and other relatives were aware of the group's plan and had been told to call for help if the men did not surface by Sunday.
It was Webb's third trip into the cave and navigating the tight spaces.
"The whole trip was fun till we got stuck. It was a cool cave," Webb said. "It's like a sport. It's a big adrenaline rush."
However, the previous week of rains had made conditions in the cave "terrible," he said, and the ropes the men had were muddy and difficult to use. Additional rain Saturday night also caused the ground inside the cave to become slippery, making it difficult for the men to get out, rescuers with the Russell County Emergency Management said Sunday.
Eventually, the men grew exhausted trying to make their way through the cave. The group had brought water, soda, sausages and granola bars along with them but their rations were getting smaller, he said.
"I had to go out and get someone or they was going to freeze to death," he said.
Webb, who said he had experience climbing and was the smallest of the group, used his body to "snake" his way through the tight areas of the cave. Webb used no harness or rope, just his bare hands. He said he climbed up two 20-foot drops before exiting the cave.
He said a knotted rope was available to him at the last drop before he exited the cave but he was unable to use it because it was soaked.
"It was either do or die. ... (I was) worrying about everybody in the cave, worrying about my little kid, my wife, my mom. ... Something had to happen," said Webb, the father of an 8-month-old baby.
All five members of his family who were stuck in the cave -- Mark Webb, 55; Anthony Webb, 34; David Gobble, 55; Jason McFaddin, 54; and Jeff Jackson, 55 -- were rescued Sunday, the Russell County Sheriff's Office said in a news release Monday. They were all treated at area hospitals for hypothermia-related injuries, authorities said.
Once Webb escaped the cave, around 1:30 a.m. Sunday, he called 911 and then his family who he said was "freaked out."
Webb said he'd definitely go back into the cave but planned to take a class with his brother first before doing so.
He told ABC News that his father, who was diagnosed with pneumonia in the hospital, as well as his uncle, were still under observation in the hospital. The other men, he said, were sore but doing OK and glad to be out of the cave.
