What was a buried treasure yesterday, is exposed to the bright light of day today.
Robber Barron Cave on the north side was an almost secret resource until a teenaged girl on a field trip got trapped deep underground.
Thousands of people followed the drama last night for hours, as firefighters worked to free an 18-year-old girl from the deep recesses of this cave. Many have asked, why the kids were here.
A spokesperson for NEISD says they were all doing exactly what they were supposed to be doing - an immersive learning experience.
"This is a field trip that we have done for many, many years. It's very beneficial," says NEISD spokesperson Aubrey Chancellor.
"These particular students were from an Earth, Space, Science class. They were exploring the cave, doing exactly what they were supposed to be doing, exploring crawl spaces. She just happened to misjudge the size of one particular crawl space, and then she got stuck."
Chancellor says when the student got stuck in a narrow passage, all the other students remained calm and everyone cooperated. Even though it took about ten hours for a terrific resolution, they're happy that things ended well.
The group that manages the preserve is very careful about who comes here because this is a very extensive underground network. It's a porous, karst formation that has features with names like Popcorn Crawlway and Triple Torture.
As this incident proves, it is possible for something unexpected to happen, but that's why there are always experienced guides on hand with any group that comes here.