BOY DROWNED IN MINE STRIPPING HOLE
Ronald Koppenhaver, 14, son of Mr. and Mrs. Clair Koppenhaver, of Keffers, drowned in a water-filled abandoned mine stripping hole at Keffers last Wednesday afternoon.
The boy had been wading in the pool with a younger brother and another companion, and the accident occurred when an inflated inner-tube slipped off his body and fell out of his reach. The two other boys ran home to summon aid.
Rescuers began their efforts immediately, using grappling hooks and a raft, and a ‘bulldozer’ was employed to dig a ditch to drain water from the stripping.
The body was recovered about 5 o’clock that afternoon but all resuscitation efforts failed.
The stripping in which the boy lost his life is 50 feet wide and 100 feet long and is located near the Keffers baseball diamond.
Survivors in addition to his parents are a brother, and his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Koppenhaver of Spring Glen, and Mr. and Mrs. Grant Klinger of Hegins.
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From a local newspaper at the time of his death.
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