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Clarification to This Article
This version of the story on the West Virginia miners was published in the newspaper's final edition, when reports on the scene suggested that 12 miners had been found alive. A link to the updated version of the story is available here:  12 Found Dead in W.Va. Coal Mine
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12 Found Alive in W.Va. Coal Mine

Crystina Neeling and Darlene Groves, right, celebrate at Sago Baptist Church Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2006 in Tallmansville, W. Va. after hearing the report indicating the miners are alive. Groves is the sister-in-law of trapped miner Jerry Groves and Neeling is his niece.
Crystina Neeling and Darlene Groves, right, celebrate at Sago Baptist Church Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2006 in Tallmansville, W. Va. after hearing the report indicating the miners are alive. Groves is the sister-in-law of trapped miner Jerry Groves and Neeling is his niece. (Kiichiro Sato - AP)
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In the hilly backwoods of West Virginia, mining runs in families for generations, and when disaster strikes -- this one is the biggest in recent local memory -- the community pulls together.

"Upshur County is like family -- when one person is hurt, we're pretty much all hurt," Sandy Fultz, an emergency medical technician and volunteer firefighter, said as she directed traffic near the mine.

Carmalita Rice, 19, a neighbor of missing miner Fred Ware, 59, said she knew the tall, thin widower was at risk the moment she heard the blast, which shook her bed. "We knew his schedule, so we knew he was in it," she said.

Helms's son Nick Helms, 25, said he was afraid to attend a briefing by mine officials. "Sometimes I can't get up the nerve to walk in. I'm scared of the news."

Terry Helms's fiance, Virginia Moore, said she packed his lunch bucket with sandwiches before he headed to work before dawn.

" 'Okay, babe. I'll see you tonight,' " she said he told her as he stepped into his red pickup truck.

"Be careful," she urged him.

From the morning darkness, he answered, "I will."

Staff writer Tamara Jones contributed to this report.


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