(Newser)
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An arrest warrant has been issued for one of four people who became trapped in an abandoned coal mine in West Virginia after he allegedly admitted the plan was to look for copper and have sex. Eddie Williams Jr. admitted entering Clear Creek’s Rock House Powellton mine with Cody Beverly, 21; Kayla Williams, 25; and Erica Treadway, 31, around 3am on Dec. 8, “to see if they left anything behind, copper, or anything,” reads a criminal complaint, per ABC News and WVVA. The 43-year-old said the group later separated into pairs to have sex, a detail police say was confirmed in interviews with his companions. The other three were rescued Dec. 12, two days after Williams emerged from the mine on his own, reports NBC News. It wasn’t clear if they will face charges, too.
Charged with breaking and entering, felony conspiracy, and giving false information to law enforcement officers, Williams initially claimed to have entered the mine spanning more than 1,000 acres a day after the other three failed to emerge, according to police. It’s unclear how the group got inside the inactive mine, which is said to have been sealed when it was shut down two years ago, reports the New York Times. At the time of the rescue, Gov. Jim Justice condemned “extremely irresponsible behavior that puts our first responders and mine safety crews in unsafe situations.” Williams also faces theft and trespassing charges stemming from an alleged visit to another mine in January. (He’s described as an experienced miner.)
