A fisherman who vanished into a treacherous underwater cave was found alive 15 days later — more than 300 feet from safety in a pitch-black chamber where rescuers had expected to recover a body.
Erasto Crisanto Valdez, 31, disappeared July 23 while fishing with his father inside a cenote, a natural water-filled sinkhole, near San Francisco La Paz, Mexico.
What followed was an extraordinary two-week search involving relatives, local residents, Mexican authorities, Navy divers and experienced cave explorers from several countries.
By the time rescuers finally reached Valdez on Aug. 7, hopes of finding him alive had nearly vanished.
“We were prepared to find his body,” Mexican explorer Carlos Jimenez said of the mission. “But God had other plans.”
Valdez had somehow survived for more than two weeks inside a dry pocket of the sprawling underwater cave system, more than 100 meters — roughly 328 feet — from the surface.
He was severely dehydrated and malnourished, but alive.
The ordeal began when Valdez reportedly chased a robalo, also known as a common snook, while fishing inside the cenote. When he attempted to make his way back, he became disoriented and could no longer locate the exit.
“I remained in shock because I couldn’t find the exit,” he reportedly said after his rescue.
Valdez later described the terrifying experience as if time itself had stopped.
His father initially searched for him before calling for help, launching what would become a massive rescue effort.
Six days after Valdez vanished, searchers discovered a harpoon he had been carrying at a depth of about 65 meters, or 213 feet.
Still, there was no sign of the missing fisherman.
Authorities formally reported Valdez missing on July 26. Days later, officials announced that the first specialist phase of the search had ended, although efforts to locate him would continue.
The cave presented a nightmare for rescuers. Much of it had never been explored, visibility was poor and jagged rocks made navigating the narrow underwater passages extremely dangerous.
American cave diver Harry Gust eventually joined the operation — believing he was participating in a body recovery.
About 75 minutes into one of his dives, Gust found a spare air tank roughly 100 meters inside the cave.
The discovery suggested Valdez had traveled deep into the system, but there was still nothing to indicate he had survived.
Gust returned the next day and reached what he described as a large, dry cave.
He shouted into the darkness to see if anyone was there.
Then came a response nobody expected.
“Yes!”
Valdez was alive.
Gust could not immediately see the stranded fisherman, but told him help was coming.
“I could not see him but assured him that I was coming back for him with more help,” Gust later said.
He returned with another diver, and the pair gave Valdez breathing equipment connected to an air tank.
Then came the dangerous journey out.
The rescuers had to transport the exhausted fisherman roughly 100 meters underwater, through total darkness and the twisting cave system, before finally reaching the surface.
Valdez was placed on a stretcher and rushed by ambulance to a hospital in his hometown of Uxpanapa.
Investigators believe one remarkable stroke of luck may have kept him alive: water from a river flowing through the dry cave gave Valdez something to drink.
There was no food.
Valdez said he spent his days drinking water, praying and sleeping in the darkness.
Even more astonishing, he had completely lost track of time.
After 15 days underground, Valdez reportedly believed he had been trapped for only about three.
Once reunited with his family, the father expressed overwhelming gratitude for getting another chance at life.
“Thank you God for giving me another opportunity at life and letting me see my kids and family again,” Valdez told Mexican outlet NMás.
“It was a miracle — an unbelievable miracle.”
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