"The most traumatic experience of my life": 3 rescued from coal mine share their stories
Whitesville, W.Va. — Three people who spent days in an abandoned coal mine are now sharing what it was like to be thousands of feet underground.
"It was the most traumatic experience of my life," said 21-year-old Cody Beverly.
He told CBS News there were moments in the mine when he didn't think Wednesday night's reunion with family and friends would happen.
"I thought that we [were going to] be found and brought out in body bags," Beverly said. "It had been three, four, five days, we didn't know what we [were] drinking, we didn't know if the water was good, but that's all we had."
He said they had nothing to eat since the night they went in, and while they were in the mine, it was hard to breathe.
"I never cried more in my life than I have in the past five days. I missed my family more than I missed anybody," Beverly said.
It took four days for rescuers to find Beverly, Kayla Williams and Erica Treadway deep inside the abandoned mine. All three were able to walk out on their own. At 31, Treadway was the oldest of the three.
"I couldn't lose hope," she said. "I had three children at home, three young children, and I had two young friends who needed me."
When they realized they had been found, Treadway said it was "overwhelming."
"I about knocked a rescuer down," she said.
Both Treadway and Beverly deny they went into the mine to steal valuable copper. But local police and family members have said they believe that's exactly why they did it.
"I'm not exploring the mines ever again and I advise nobody — nobody — to go into the mines unless you are prepared, trained and it is your job," Treadway said.
No charges have been filed but the sheriff suggested they may be forthcoming.