A 37-year-old Pennsylvania man is dead after falling roughly 200 feet into a Wythe County rock quarry that was closed at the time, according to authorities. Quarry workers discovered his body Monday, October 26, setting off a technical rescue operation to bring him out of the pit.
The Wythe County Sheriff's Office responded Monday to a report of a body found inside the Wythe Stone Rock Quarry on Atkins Mill Road, according to wdbj7.com. Deputies said they found a man who had fallen approximately 200 feet into the quarry. He was later identified as Bradley Steven Bronson of Lititz, Pennsylvania.
Investigation Points to Sunday Entry at Closed Site
The investigation determined that Bronson entered the quarry on Sunday, October 25, while the facility was closed, the outlet's report notes. He was found dead the following day by quarry workers, who alerted authorities to the discovery on the Atkins Mill Road property.
Recovering Bronson's body required specialized equipment given the depth of the quarry. The Wythe County Sheriff's Office's technical rope team descended into the quarry to extract his body, per SuperTalk 92.9. The same report states that the incident remains under investigation.
Quarry Deaths Have Drawn Scrutiny Elsewhere
Wythe Stone Rock Quarry's fatality echoes other recent incidents at stone quarries around the country, though under different circumstances. In August, a worker was killed by falling rocks at a quarry in Seymour, Connecticut, according to police cited by WFSB. That case involved an active worksite rather than a closed facility, underscoring how varied the hazards at these sites can be.
As WSLS 10 first reported locally, authorities have not released further details about how Bronson came to be inside the closed quarry. The Wythe County Sheriff's Office has not disclosed additional information about the circumstances surrounding his entry or the fall itself, and the investigation into his death continues.
