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Miner who killed rattlesnakes while trapped at the bottom of mine shaft tells story of survival

PHOENIX (KSAZ) -- Trapped in a dark hole, with no light, food, water, and communication with the world above, an Arizona gold miner is lucky to be alive, after falling to the bottom of a 100-foot mine shaft.

Now, that gold miner, John Waddell, visited the site again, after curiousity almost killed him.

"I've been mining for about 18 years now," said Waddell. He had been mining another section of this land for more than a decade, and finally, he decided it was time to find out what was down one particular mine shaft.

"This one here was, just, had my name on it," said Waddell. "I just had to see what was down at the bottom of it. This is the first shaft that I've actually tried to repel down."

He built a platform around the opening, and a derrick, then used rock climbing gear to lower himself into the mystery hole.

The plan, however, didn't go as planned.

"I heard the rigging snap, and going down, I just grabbed hold of my safety rope as hard as I could," Waddell recounted. "If I were to let go of that, I could've bounced off the walls and I wouldn't be here today. At the very bottom of it, I noticed my leg was broke. My ankle was broke."

FOX 10's camera, as well as SkyFOX Drone, took a trip down to the bottom of the shaft.

"It was dark," said Waddell. "The ground was wet. It was cold, and from the trauma of breaking bones and the cold in the floor, I just shook uncontrollably. Shaking."

Waddell was not alone down at the shaft. He heard them immediately after his hard landing.

"The first rattlesnake that I killed was probably about one to two feet from my face, and I didn't notice the rattlesnake till I lied down to put the splint on, then I took the stick and killed that one," said Waddell.

Cameras captured the body of a rattler, motionless, on the ground. Waddell, however, said there's at least two more dead rattlesnakes somewhere down there.

"The 2nd night, I was trying to brace myself up to sit up straight, I can feel a rattlesnake going underneath my arm. I didn't move. I could feel the vibration from his tail. He was rattling, and when he was out, I don't know what compelled me to do it, but I grabbed hold of the back end of it, and threw it just as hard as I could up against the wall. At that point, I took the stick and killed that one," said Waddell. "The 3rd one, I killed on the 3rd day. That one I could see becaise the sun was just right, and I was able to see that one and kill it. Even after that, I couldn't see anymore, but you can hear them and know they were down there."

Waddell had his cellphone, but no service. He did take a couple of photos, one of them showing how he used his army and EMT skills to fashion a splint for his shattered leg out of a stick. Another photo was taken on the 2nd night Waddell was down in the shaft.

"That's the point that I gave up," said Waddell. "There was no hope, and I said a lot of prayers."

Then came the hallucinations. Waddell recalls seeing jagged edges of rock and earth surrounding him turn into a black cloud which circled above his head, wondering if it was the Grim Reaper.

Waddell didn't eat, and couldn't sleep. He popped blisters on his hands, and drank the only fluid he could find.

"I did face the fact that I might not be found, and I would die down there," said Waddell.

On the 4th day, Waddell's friend went to the mine shaft, and called for help after realizing Waddell was down there. It took MCSO's Search and Rescue team six hours to raise john up and remove him from the black pit that should have claimed his life.

Waddell spent two weeks in the hospital underwent surgery to fix his broken femur and leg, but he is expected to make a full recovery. At the end of all this, he did satisfy his curiosity. Waddell said he saw proof there could be gold down at the shaft.

Just don't expect him to go down there again.

"No, I'm not going back down. I've had enough," said Waddell. "It was a one way trip, and only by the grace of God that I'm here today."

Waddell said he is now done with mining, realizing his life is worth more than gold. Meanwhile, the mine shaft that almost claimed Waddell's life is now surrounded by a locked gate, and barbed wire fence.