Man pulled from quarry in Elyria, three others cited for trespassing

ELYRIA, Ohio - One man was taken to an area hospital and three others cited for trespassing after a swim in an Elyria quarry.

Passersby called 911 at about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday when they spotted the men in the quarry near Infirmary Road and West River Road.

Elyria Fire Chief Richard Benton said the four men in their 20s went swimming in the quarry. They attempted to swim across, a distance the chief estimated to be 450 feet. When they realized they weren't going to make it across, one of the swimmers panicked and went under water.

The three others rescued him and made it to a small ledge on the far side of the quarry. Firefighters repelled down the side of the cliff to the four victims.

"They swam to the far side of the quarry which there's no access out of. It's just about a 30 foot steep cliff that we had to bring them up out of," said Chief Benton.

Benton said one man was transported to Elyria Memorial Hospital. By 5:30 p.m., all four were rescued from the quarry.

Off-duty personnel were called into assist crews on the scene. The chief said his department trains for situations like the one they encountered at the quarry.

"Just because of the sheer cliffs we have around the city and some of the other high hazards, we have all of our personnel trained in this."

There are no trespassing signs in the area and Benton said people need to heed the warning. The men were issued citations. Benton added that no one knows what chemicals are in the quarry, which was used to cool the steel at the foundry.