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Sheriff's Office: CU Student Purposely Jumped Into Abandoned Mine

BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - The Boulder County Sheriff's Office says a 19-year-old man purposely jumped into an abandoned mine. First responders rushed to the Switzerland Trail at around midnight on Sept. 25 after the man's friends called 911.

Searchers found him 45 feet below the mine's entrance. The man was not hurt.

Sheriff's deputies say the is a student at the University of Colorado Boulder.

"He's very lucky he did not die," Carrie Haverfeld, BCSO spokeswoman, told CBS4.

Firefighters from Sugarloaf Fire found the group off of Forest Service Road 211A. The man was hoisted up with a rope system. The rescue took about 3.5 hours, firefighters say.

Fourmile Fire, Sunshine Fire, the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group and the Boulder County Sheriff's Office were among the agencies that responded.

It's not clear if the man will face any consequences.

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