The next day I was assigned to find and talk to family members. My best shot was at the school in Huntington where the families had been receiving information from mine and federal officials.
No one wanted to talk and I don’t blame them.
But, we still had no independent confirmation of the names of the deceased from the second incident. I knew one of them was an MSHA (Mine Safety and Health Administration) official. I contacted one of their press people and received confirmation. I then went up to the press conference on the mountain which occurred after the officials met with the miners’ families. For the first time Mr. Murray, the colorful mine, was very noticeably absent. Mine officials told us he was administering to the families and was too deeply affected by the second incident that he did not want to appear before cameras.
The next day I ran into an AP reporter talking to the Sheriff. She asked him about confirming the names of the other two deceased men. I asked the question myself and he confirmed the names.
It may sound like I’m being calloused about how I go about doing my job but that’s just it. This is journalism. You confirm the facts so you don’t have to attribute information to anyone else which can often very difficult to do.
Two days later the mine company told reporters the mine may become a tomb. The families were outraged and held a very emotional press conference. The mine company and MSHA backed down and said they would continue.
On the last day I was there in Huntington Mr. Murry appeared at the news conference. He looked exhausted but was his normally effusive self. I asked him if he had any regrets about the rescue efforts. His long pause-ridden answer was essentially, “no.”
The mine is now closed and the bodies have not been recovered.