The Fairmount Park Cave-In
Council Bluffs, Iowa — Friday, July 12, 1968
What we know so far, drawn from Diana’s texts, Danny’s corrections, Shelly’s account, and the Daily Nonpareil record. The date was confirmed by Diana on Oct 23, 2026.
The Day Itself
Neighborhood kids dig a cave in the bluffs
Children hand-dig a cave/tunnel into the loess bluffs near Fairmount Park over two summers, working toward connecting passages. The main chamber grows tall enough to stand in — about 7 feet.
Rain
It rains the night before the collapse — soaking the loess the cave is dug into.
A plan for Sunset Park changes
The Thomas girls are playing in the yard, planning to go to Sunset Park, when Bryan and Bart Underwood stop by and ask if they want to go up to Fairmount Park instead. The girls ask their mom. Delores says yes — “take Shelley with you.”
Lana is at Grandma Jacob’s
Lana isn’t with them — she is at her grandmother Selma Jacob’s that day (not at a friend’s house, as first told). Her account of the day is still to come.
Swings, then a hike to see a cave
While the girls are swinging, another kid asks if they want to go for a hike and see a cave. They hike into the bluffs.
Kids testing the roof with sticks
Children are running around on top of the cave, poking it with sticks to make sure it is stable. Inside, the main chamber is 7 feet tall — you can stand up in it. Other kids inside are digging an exit.
Everyone takes their place
Jamie and Bryan go deeper in, into the tunnel — a crawl space. Bart won’t go in; it freaks him out, so he stays just outside the entrance. Dawn and Shelley stay near the entrance, where a boy named Briggs sits digging with a stick, widening it.
“A big thud — and it was gone”
A big chunk of dirt falls from the ceiling right in front of Dawn and Shelley. Dawn grabs Shelley and shoves her out the door; they fall and roll down the hill. They hear a big thud, turn around, and the cave is gone. Jamie and Bryan are still inside.
Digging with bare hands
The kids run back up to where the entrance was and dig with their hands, screaming for help. Two young men bow hunting nearby hear the yelling, come up, and dig with their hands too. One boy is rescued from the collapsed dirt: Briggs — found near the entrance with a broken arm. His mouth had landed on an air hole, which is why he lived (per Diana, Oct 23, 2026).
Down to Fairmont Drive
Shelley and Dawn — Dawn bawling — climb down to the main road, Fairmont Dr., to get help. Two adults stop and ask what happened and where the cave is; a policeman stops and calls it in. The adults head up to the cave. The girls keep walking.
“Well, that’s what you get for playing in a cave.” — an elderly man on his porch, to two girls who had just lost their sister
Danny gets pulled off the lunch counter
About two hours into his shift at Howard Johnson’s — where 16-year-old Danny works the fountain and the lunch counter — his boss pulls him aside: family emergency. His grandfather Leonard Jacob, his uncle Stanley Jacob, and Aunt Toots (who was getting a ride home) have come to pick him up. He is told about the cave-in.
Donald Thomas is flown home
The children’s father, a truck driver, is on the road in Salt Lake City, Utah. His company stops his run, flies a replacement driver out to take over, and flies him home to be with the family.
“Rescuers Seek Bodies”
The Daily Nonpareil photographs rescuers digging at the collapsed entrance. Two children were trapped. Per Diana’s correction (Oct 23, 2026), Jamie died suddenly — no dirt was found in her mouth or under her nails. It was Bryan who suffocated: dirt was found under his nails and in his mouth.
The Cave — Who Was Where
Cross-section, from Shelly’s account
Bart Underwood — wouldn’t go in; it freaked him out.
Dawn & Shelley Thomas — escaped when Dawn shoved Shelley out.
Briggs — sitting, digging with a stick to widen the entrance. Buried in the collapse; found with a broken arm, his mouth on an air hole — he survived.
About 7 feet tall — stand-up height. Other kids inside, digging an exit.
Jamie Thomas and Bryan Underwood — farthest inside. Neither made it out.
The People
-
Leonard Jacob “Grandpa Jacob”
Came with Stanley and Toots to pick Danny up from work.
& Selma (Reikofski) Jacob
-
Delores Jean (Jacob) Thomas 1931–2013
“Grandma.” The children’s mother. Gave the girls permission that day — “take Shelley with you.”
& Donald Thomas
Truck driver. Flown home from Salt Lake City when it happened.
- Danny Thomas b. July 5, 1952 Fountain server at Howard Johnson’s; pulled off his shift with the news.
- Lana Thomas Was at Grandma Jacob’s (Selma’s) that day instead of the park. Her account is still to come.
- Shelley Thomas In the cave near the entrance; shoved out by Dawn as it collapsed. A firsthand witness.
- Dawn Thomas 1955–2023 In the cave near the entrance; grabbed Shelley and got her out. Ran for help.
- Diana Thomas Now Diana Stahlnecker — Nathan’s mother. The baby of the family; too young to have been there. She is relaying the story.
- Jami Thomas d. July 12, 1968 Farthest inside, in the tunnel crawl space with Bryan. Did not make it out.
- Stanley Jacob “Uncle Stan” Delores’s brother. Rode along for the pickup of Danny.
- Euveda Jacob later Euveda King Delores’s sister. Not “Aunt Toots” — that was Toots Ambrose (per Diana, Oct 23, 2026).
-
Delores Jean (Jacob) Thomas 1931–2013
“Grandma.” The children’s mother. Gave the girls permission that day — “take Shelley with you.”
& Donald Thomas
Truck driver. Flown home from Salt Lake City when it happened.
“Aunt Toots” was Toots Ambrose (identified by Diana, Oct 23, 2026) — she rode along because she was getting a ride home.
The Underwoods — neighborhood friends
- Bryan Underwood d. July 12, 1968 Went into the tunnel with Jamie. Did not make it out. Diana’s messages spell it “Bryan”; it also appears as “Brian” — spelling still to be confirmed from a record.
- Bart Underwood Bryan’s brother; good friends with Jamie. Stayed outside the entrance — survived.
Also there
- Briggs A boy digging with a stick near the entrance — and the boy the paper says was rescued. Buried in the collapse, he was found with a broken arm; his mouth had landed on an air hole, which is why he survived.
- Two young bow hunters Heard the screaming, came up, and dug with their hands.
- Greg Danny’s friend, 15 — the busboy at Howard Johnson’s. (Not Diana’s husband Greg Stahlnecker, who is not in this story.)
How the Accounts Line Up
Diana’s first telling (texts, Oct 4, 2026)
Three sisters playing in a cave; it rumbled; two got out, Jamie didn’t. Danny learned the news on his first day as a Howard Johnson’s busboy, told by Grandma in the car.
The emotional core holds. Several details were later corrected by Danny and Shelly.
Danny’s correction (via Diana, Oct 9)
- He was born in 1952 and turned 16 that summer — already 15 going on 16.
- He was a fountain server at the lunch counter, not a busboy (his friend Greg was the busboy).
- He was already working there when Jamie died — not his first day, as Diana first told it. (Diana has since confirmed the cave-in was itself on July 12, 1968; whether that was also literally his first day is the one knot left to untie.)
- The pickup was Grandpa Jacob, Uncle Stan, and Aunt Toots — not Grandma.
Shelly’s account (as Nathan remembers her telling it)
Neighborhood kids hand-dug a horseshoe-shaped tunnel, digging from two points to meet in the middle. It collapsed as they broke through. Jami was farthest inside with a boy; they were the only two who couldn’t get out. Autopsy: the boy died instantly; Jami suffocated from inhaling dirt.
The autopsy detail in this recollection was reversed by Diana’s correction of Oct 23, 2026 — see below.
Diana’s corrections (Oct 23, 2026)
- The date: Friday, July 12, 1968. Jamie and Bryan died that day. Danny had turned 16 on July 5th and was already working at Howard Johnson’s.
- Briggs was the rescued boy — found near the entrance with a broken arm; his mouth landed on an air hole, which is why he survived.
- How they died, reversed: Jamie died suddenly — no dirt in her mouth or under her nails. It was Bryan who suffocated; dirt was found under his nails and in his mouth.
- “Aunt Toots” was Toots Ambrose — not Euveda. Euveda (King) is Delores’s sister.
- Lana was at Grandma Jacob’s that day — not at a friend’s house.
Shelly’s account (relayed by Diana, Oct 22)
The full day-of story: Sunset Park plan, the Underwood boys, “take Shelley with you,” the rain the night before, the 7-foot chamber, Bryan in the tunnel, Bart outside, Briggs digging, Dawn shoving Shelley out, the bow hunters, Fairmont Dr., and the old man’s line on the porch.
It matches the newspaper on the chamber height and the child-dug cave — strong corroboration.
The Daily Nonpareil clipping (1968)
“Rescuers Seek Bodies” — two children trapped; the cave dug by children over two summers; roof almost seven feet tall; one boy rescued from the collapsed dirt. Story on page 1; obituaries on page 3.
Confirms two victims and the child-dug cave. The page-1 story — which would name everyone and give the date — is still missing.
Where the accounts still differ
- One death vs. two: Diana’s first telling named only Jamie; Shelly and the paper say two children were trapped. Two is now the working account.
- Playing vs. digging: Diana said the girls were playing in a cave; Shelly says the kids were digging it themselves. Both may hold — the girls went to see it; other kids were digging.
- Who told Danny: Diana’s first telling says Grandma, in the car; Danny’s correction puts Grandpa Jacob, Stan, and Toots on the pickup. Unresolved.
- How they died: Nathan’s recollection of the autopsy had the boy dying instantly and Jami suffocating; Diana’s Oct 23 correction reverses it — Jamie died suddenly, and Bryan suffocated. The correction stands as the current account.
- Jami’s name: spelled “Jami” in her mother’s obituary, “Jamie” in her sister Dawn’s and in Diana’s texts.
Still Unknown
- Bryan or Brian Underwood — Diana’s messages use “Bryan,” but no public record of him has been found yet in free sources to settle the spelling.
- The page-1 story and the obituaries (page 3) — now datable to the July 12–13, 1968 issues of the Nonpareil. The Council Bluffs library was asked Oct 9 and Oct 22, 2026; waiting on their reply before trying their paid search form.
- Lana’s account — Diana is still confirming details with her.
- The rest of Shelly’s account — more is coming via Diana.
- Was July 12 literally Danny’s first day at Howard Johnson’s, or had he started earlier that week?
- Jami’s age and where she is buried.