Illinois man grateful to Iowa cave rescuers

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) - An Illinois man says he was amazed by the number of people who worked to rescue him and pray for him while he was trapped in an Iowa cave.

Logan Eliasen, of Port Byron, Ill., told the Quad-City Times that the number involved was surprising because he only saw two or three rescuers at a time.

About a dozen people took turns crawling through 300 feet of twists and turns in an attempt to rescue the 20-year-old Eliasen. He was trapped for 20 hours underground at Maquoketa Caves State Park before being freed Saturday afternoon.

Davenport firefighter Amy Priest says rescuers came from the Quad-Cities area and as far away as Cedar Rapids.

Eliasen says he wants people to know how grateful he is to the rescue workers.