SAINT PAUL, Minn. — Inside an underground cave near the Saint Paul Rivercenter parking ramp by the intersection of Eagle Parkway and Exchange Street, a group of urban explorers on Wednesday found a body in a confined space.
Rescue crews recovered the remains and Saint Paul PD and the Medical Examiner are searching for answers -- who was this person, and how did they die?
"Things like that can happen and they've happened in a lot of caves in the area," said Edward D. Lindem, an expert on the vast number of underground caves in Saint Paul.
"There are about 150 different cave systems in Saint Paul. And to put that in perspective our cave system here has seven caves within it," Lindem said.
Lindem is the director of themed entertainment for the historic Wabasha Street Caves, the only privately owned caves in Saint Paul. The company has been giving guided tours since the early 90s.
While so-called urban explorers sometimes find ways to get into other caves around the city, Lindem says it's unsafe for a number of reasons. They aren't natural caves -- they were mined out in the early years of the city.
"And that's because sandstone here in the area is known as Saint Peter's Sandstone, which is really rich in silica," Lindem said.
But what was part of the fabric of Saint Paul's history -- when explored by the inexperienced -- has too often ended in tragedy.
"Most of the other caves in the area other than us have actually been condemned by the city. The city has boarded up, bricked up, or torn down a lot of the caves so if you're able to find one, it's really unsafe to go into," Lindem said.
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