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Kids discover underground treasure: a cave in Bexar County

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by JOE CONGER

KENS-TV

Posted on March 6, 2013 at 11:55 AM

Updated Wednesday, Mar 6 at 5:10 PM

Cave discovery
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SAN ANTONIO – A group of boys in a north-side subdivision found what some experts say could be the fifth largest cave in Bexar County.

And it started with a hole they discovered while exploring The Ridge at Lookout Canyon.

“We got bored,” said 11-year-old Ethan.

So, they did what boys do: They poked at it.

Ethan said, “I just stuck my hand in. It was kind of humid, so I took a picture.”

His friend Brendon added, “We stuck our phones in it and found stuff inside it. It was really cool.”

The pictures they took with the cell phone started a spelunking adventure and expeditions launched by their fathers, who want to remain anonymous.

“There’s no telling what’s down there,” said one dad. “We just wanted to make sure if they were going down there, nothing was going to happen.”

Through pictures, the cave appears extensive, with stalagmites and stalactites and features that rival some more famous caves in the area.

“What’s it look like down there?” a reporter asked one child.
 
“Like Natural Bridge Caverns,” said Britt.
 
Caves do get some protection: In the Edwards Aquifer Zone, they can’t be plugged without review from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
 
The developer, McMillin Homes, has placed grates over some of the smaller entrances and reportedly sealed up the larger crawl space.
 
But neighbors said some prospective homeowners are being told the cave just doesn’t exist.
 
With millions of dollars in home development designated over the cave area, the boys may have opened up a can of worms--make that a can of cave spiders or beetles—that their parents believe creates an underground world of liabilities for the developer.
 
“It’s not as simple as covering it up with gravel,” said one father.

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