After bats, formations bashed--justice comes to Langdon’s Cave
by
Jay JordenIt was as if war had been declared on the Indiana cave, with a horrific scene greeting law officers and cavers.
Broken formations were strewn inside Langdon’s. Up to a dozen bats had been stomped, with those not killed quivering in pain from their injuries. Caver Aaron Atz was among the first on the scene after the attack.
"We encountered a boy around 17 years of age. We noticed that he had no head protection nor proper caving gear. He bragged that people in his group had caught and stomped bats," Atz wrote of the case. "We headed for the entrance. Promptly more of his group arrived including: a young girl around 12 years of age, a young boy around 10, a boy who looked to be 16 years of age, and then, two more adult males about 40 years of age walked into the room. The 16 year-old was bragging that he had just ‘stomped a bat’, and that he had a jacket that stored a bat in its pocket.
"On the way out of Langdon’s Cave, we came upon a flannel jacket hanging three feet above the floor from a projectile. I noticed the upper chest pocket moving. I unbuttoned the pocket and a little brown bat flew out. I then found another bat on the ground, convulsing, chirping in pain, and bleeding," wrote Atz, who was caving at Langdon’s with a friend when they came upon the tragedy.
Atz found two bats dead after the attack, but said he couldn’t locate a third bat "after it crawled away shaking after it had been stomped. One big stalagmite and many pieces of popcorn were taken from the cave. Also ... there may be more vandalism than what I have reported ... I only went halfway into the cave after they came out...they may have killed MORE bats," he wrote. "I went back the next day to the cave and found a trail of dead bats ... probably half a dozen or so."
In May, Atz’s persistence after turning in a half-dozen individuals in connection with injuries of bats and stalagmite thefts in Langdon’s paid off with a sentencing. Following the November 1997 attack, suspects had first been released without any tickets or arrests, with the investigating officer saying he might issue citations later. So Atz began contacting media representatives with the details and brought publicity to the case. He also urged cavers and others to call the Indiana Conservation Office Patoka headquarters and question the outcome of the cave vandalism investigation, in which an officer did not ticket any of the six suspects—including two minors. He also requested calls to the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department.
In the aftermath, members of the Cave Vandalism Deterrence Reward Commission of the National Speleological Society awarded Atz of Corydon, Ind., the sum of $1,000 for his courageous efforts in reporting the crime, pursuing prosecution—and sustaining personal repercussions from his work. Aaron provided information leading to arrest and prosecution in connection with the attacks on cave formations and bats.
Unfortunately, his efforts cost him his job. Aaron, NSS 43492, was dismissed as a security officer for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources after—as he put it -- "speaking out against ‘one of their own'" investigating officers who was unwilling to help prosecute the case. Atz had depended on the summer job at Harrison-Crawford State Forest to help support him through college. He was majoring in criminal justice at Indiana University. He has also been Harrison-Crawford Grotto secretary and an Indiana Karst Conservancy member.
In Harrison County Court, Robert Grant, 20, of Marengo, Ind., was later charged with two misdemeanors following his arrest for vandalizing Langdon’s—breaking and taking cave formations—and for injuring bats there. He pleaded guilty to at least one of the charges. He has been sentenced to 40 hours of community service, five weekends in the Harrison County Jail, and one year of probation following one of Indiana’s first-ever cave vandalism prosecutions.
"This is a clear victory for cavers everywhere," Atz wrote.
After the attack, Atz had used a pay phone at Wyandotte Woods State Recreation Area to contact the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department and request a conservation officer to meet. After delays, Conservation Officer Terry Allen and County Deputies Marty McClanahan and Don Mays responded. The six suspects who Atz believed participated in the acts exited the cave and were confronted by the officers. They all denied any wrongdoing or seeing any bats. Then Grant confessed to officers that he stomped "a bat or two". Officer Allen told Grant to empty his bag of "rocks". He dropped several helectites, small stalagmites, and pieces of cave popcorn. The officer told Grant that he was free to go and that he might contact him at a later date IF the bats that were injured were later proven to be endangered Indiana Brown Bats.
However, Indiana Criminal Code states to kill or harm any cave-dwelling animal is a Class "A" Misdemeanor, and to remove any naturally occurring cave formation is also a Class "A" Misdemeanor. Both offenses are punishable by a $5000.00 fine and up to 1 year in jail.
Atz informed the conservation officer that he was dealing with a crime and not merely a civil infraction, and then sent many e-mails to cavers across the United States detailing the incident, including phone numbers for the conservation officer and the county prosecutor. Two locals papers—the Corydon Democrat and the Clarion News—ran articles on their front pages about the vandalism.
Following the prosecution, Atz was criticized by the conservation officer for publicizing the case and was not rehired as a security officer. He also was denied a job as a cave guide at Wyandotte Cave.
"I believe that my participation in the case had some far-reaching effects. I believe that cavers from all over the U.S. were inspired to act and report future (vandalism) incidents," he wrote. "The incidents gained much media exposure and should act as a very strong deterrent. I received score upon score of supportive e-mails after the incident...one from as far away as Cape Town, South Africa.
Atz has said he would apply the reward funds to "two good causes"—his college tuition and the Indiana Karst Conservancy’s purchasing fund for Sullivan Cave.
Commissioners in December unanimously decided on the award. A sampling of their sentiments on the recommendation: