AN experienced caver who
drowned during a trip with his
novice companion was trying to
guide her to safety, an inquest
was told yesterday.
The hearing was told that the
pair would have survived if they
had stayed where they were
when the water began to rise.
Stuart John Goodwill, from
Darlington, and Caroline Jane
Fletcher, from Keighley, West
Yorkshire, died as they tried to
escape from the Alum Pot cave
system, near Selside, in the Yorkshire
Dales, on December 27 last
year.
David Gallivan, a duty controller
with the cave rescue team
which tried to save them, told the
inquest that he believed Mr
Goodwill, 33, was trying to lead
the pair above ground.
He said they were trying to
reach a dry ox bow cave from another
cave and Mr Goodwill went
ahead to secure his rope before
he went back for 28-year-old Miss
Fletcher.
When one of them lost their
footing, they became tangled and
were overpowered in up to 3ft of
fast-flowing flood water.
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The pair, who were engineers
for sister companies, had intended
to go to Yordas Cave, another
system in the area. Mr Gallivan
believes that because of the rain,
they decided to go to Alum Pot, a
cave used by beginners.
Miss Fletcher was a novice
caver and some of her equipment
still had its price tag.
NOVICE CAVER: Caroline Jane Fletcher
He believes the couple went
into the caves, but decided to
turn back when they reached the
Dollytubs section, because of the
rain and cold.
Mr Gallivan said: "I assume
they had gone down into the Dollytubs
area. They may have gone
down the first pitch and realised
the water levels were quite high
and were hit by a small flood
pulse.
"Where they were, they could
have been drenched very quickly
and become very cold.
"Assuming they were wet and
cold, they would have struggled
to get out," he added.
"They got to the Plank Pool
and to the first ox bow. I am assuming
possibly because of that,
and hypothermia setting in, they
tried to make their way to the surface
which was only 100m away."
Mr Goodwill's wife, Claire,
raised the alarm when he failed
to return, and police called the
cave rescue organisation.
The pair were discovered from
the light of one of the rescuer's
torches, at 3.20am. Mr Goodwill's
rope was tied to the cave wall infront
of them.
Mr Gallivan said: "We will
never know what happened. My
assumption is that if they could
have sat and waited, they would
have been fine.
"The decision to exit the cave for whatever reason was the mistake."
Mr Gallivan said rain on previous
days meant any more water
would form flash floods underground.
Coroner Geoff Fell recorded a
verdict of accidental death in
both cases at the hearing, at Skipton
Magistrates' Court.
He said: "Stuart probably went
back to give some help to Caroline.
Had they got to the next ox
bow, they would have been close
to the exit. As an experienced
caver, I am sure Stuart would
have made - for him and, more
importantly Caroline - the right
decision to get out of the cave."
However, he also warned of the
dangers of going into the cave
during rain, and said: "I think the
decisions to go into the system
were far less complex than the
decisions Stuart was faced with
in trying to exit."
Mrs Goodwill said the outcome
was as she expected, and said:
"Stuart was outgoing, fantastic
and diligent. I do not know anyone
who did not like him. Everything
he did, he was good at. He
did not stop until he mastered it."
Mr Goodwill, from Haydock, in
Merseyside, met his wife when
she went to college there and
moved to Darlington three years
ago when they married.
Mr Goodwill, who worked for
JN Bentley's, based in Skipton,
enjoyed other outdoor pursuits
including rock climbing, ice
climbing, power-kiting, swimming
and walking.
He has also recently tried via
ferrata, a form of mountain walking
with ropes and ladders, and
planned to go to Italy this year.
During the inquest, Miss
Fletcher, who worked for Mott
MacDonald Bentley, a subsidiary
of JN Bentley's, was described as
the life and soul of any party.
Her father, Paul, said: "She was
an ambitious person who wanted
to work hard at any job she had."
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