Woman in critical condition after being lost in cave for 24 hours

GRAND LAKE, Okla. (AP) -- A Grove woman who spent about 24 hours lost in a freezing cave in northeastern Oklahoma over the weekend was listed in critical but stable condition in a Missouri hospital.

Lynn Jones, 40, went into the cave Saturday night with two friends, but did not come out with them later that night, officials said.

Divers from an Arkansas rescue team were called in to find Jones after dozens of rescue personnel were unable to penetrate the caverns with the equipment they had.

After two hours, the divers found Jones in a cavern deep inside the cave. She had endured freezing temperatures for almost 24 hours, Delaware County Sheriff Lenden Woodruff said.

The cave, called Jack's Squirrel Cave, is located inside the Leisure Shores development, a residential area on the north end of Grand Lake.

Delaware County authorities said Robert Higgins and Dawn Zigler went into the cave with Jones and that the three tried to find a way out when the lights they were using went out.

Officials said Higgins and Zigler made it out of the cave, but could not find Jones, even after going back into the cave several times trying to find her.

After interviewing Higgins, Delaware County deputies arrested him for suspicion of possessing methamphetamine.