Boy In Critical Condition After Fall Into Empty Grain Storage Shaft

A 9-year-old boy is in critical condition after falling 20 feet into an underground grain storage shaft near Rathdrum Thursday morning.

The boy was playing with his cousin at 10:39 a.m. when he fell into the concrete-bottom shaft, which was empty, said Rathdrum Deputy Fire Chief Bob Maines.

Emergency crews used a rescue basket and ropes to lift the victim from the shaft after he was placed on a backboard.

“We raised him up by ropes,” Maines said. “I was working on the patient.”

The boy was flown by a Med-Star helicopter to Deaconess Medical Center in Spokane with head injuries.

Preliminary reports show the boy was unaware of the open hatch to the storage area on the Meyer family farm on Lancaster Road. Republican state Rep. Wayne Meyer is a partner in the farming operation.

The boy’s parents were on the scene when the accident happened and had permission to be at the storage area, said the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department.

Rep. Meyer could not be reached for comment.