By Katie Langford
The Denver Post
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — A teenager was injured after falling 30 feet into a decommissioned missile silo north of Watkins on New Year’s Day, according to South Metro Fire Rescue officials.
First responders were called around 3:45 p.m. Wednesday to a property in the 4500 block of South Imboden Road after a group of three people – two teenagers and an adult – were messing around with the lid of the missile silo and one of the teenagers fell in, said South Metro spokesperson Brian Willie.
The boy’s fall was broken by about 4 feet of water at the bottom of the silo, and he was able to stand with his head above water while a team of two rescuers used a rope system to reach him, stabilize him and get him out. He was out of the silo by 5 p.m. and was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, Willie said.
The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident as a trespassing.
The silo is one of 11 missile complexes built across the Front Range as part of the former Titan and Atlas missile programs, according to the state Department of Public Health and Environment.
South Metro has responded to help with two calls for people falling into missile silos over the last year, Willie said. In one case, an 18-year-old man was seriously injured after falling into a missile silo near Deer Trail in May.
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