Bill Wilson - Rescue crews were working frantically early this afternoon attempting to reach two men trapped under tons of dirt and rock in the Velie Lion hard rock lead and zinc mine a mile northwest of Eagle-Picher's Central Mill near Cardin. Another man, Taylor Smith of Picher Oklahoma, was removed from beneath a stone slab that covered the lower part of his body and was taken to Miami Baptist hospital. A fourth workman, Buck Woods of Picher outran the cave-in and was not injured. Trapped some 325 feet below the surface were James France and Bill Wilson, both of Picher. The cave-in of an overhanging ledge released an estimated 200 tons of rock and dirt, about 9 o'clock this morning. Bill Stone of Galena Kansas, operator of the lead and zinc mine, spread the alarm. It was estimated that one of the miners was under six feet and the other 20 feet of rock and dirt. Sonny Green, an ambulance driver for Paul Thomas funeral home, Picher Oklahoma, reported at noon today that rock was still spitting .from the cave-in ledge. He had found a hat worn by one of the miners... Smith's condition included a deep gash on the left thigh and possible internal injuries. Mechanical equipment was used to lift rock that trapped him. Woods, a truck driver, saw the ledge start to collapse, jumped from his truck and dashed several feet to safety behind a supporting mine pillar. The truck was mangled beneath eight feet of dirt. Rescue men said all that remained visible of the vehicle was a fender. Wood returned to the cave-in area to aid in the search for his fellow workmen...

The crushed body of Jim France, 51, Picher Oklahoma, was recovered. It was found between the forks of the earth loader he was operating when a supporting mine pillar buckled Wednesday morning sending tons of rock hurling down on him and three companions, all of Picher. Recovery operations were halted only briefly after the body was found while rescue crewmen took a short break. Then they resumed digging for the body of Bill Wilson, also presumed dead. The four men had worked together about a month in the Velie Lion Mine. Wilson was the latest addition to the crew, joining the others in September. Before his arrival, Woods, Smith and France had worked in the mine for about a year. France's death, raised the mine's total to 40 since operations began there in 1918. The Velie Lion Mine has a reputation among area miners as being one of the most dangerous in the district. Five days ago Wilson was reported to have told a friend that he was concerned about the dangerous conditions in the Velie Lion Mine and that he was looking for another job. Wilson had been a miner all his adult life. Wilson suffered a back injury in an accident last spring in another mine. he had planned to drive to Tulsa Oklahoma today to keep an appointment with a neuro-surgeon. Because of the injury he had seen an attorney about applying for workman's compensation. The Eagle-Picher Company leased the Velie Lion to Bill Stone, a Galena Kansas mining operator, about 16 months ago. Since then Stone's crews have been chugging the mine, stripping the last remnants of ore from it. The collapsing pillar left a pile of earth and rock about 60 feet in diameter and about 15 feet deep at its peak. The cave-in occurred in a 100 by 70 foot cavern 250 feet below the surface. The cavern is about 60 feet high.. .

An air line in a pneumatic jack hammer led searchers early today to the body of Bill Wilson, 31, the second of two miners who were killed Wednesday in a cave-in at the Velie Lion Mine near Cardin Oklahoma. Wilson's body was found at 3 am within a few feet of the jack hammer he was operating when an overhanging ledge and mine pillar collapsed on him and three fellow workers, all of Picher Oklahoma. Members of the rescue team said Wilson, probably didn't hear the pillar start to buckle over the noise of his jackhammer and had no chance to escape. He was buried under approximately 15 feet of debris and was probably crushed to death instantly. Diggers first discovered Wilson's crumpled miner's hat. It was lying about five feet from his body. The recovery came about 41 hours after the tragedy occurred. ...Wilson, a World War II Army veteran, is survived by his wife, Helen Wilson, four sons, William Lee Wilson, David Lewis Wilson, James Frank Wilson and Raymond Allen Wilson, all of the Picher Oklahoma home; his father and step-mother, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Wilson, Picher, and a brother, John Wilson, Picher. Burial in the Greenlawn cemetery in Kansas...Paul Thomas mortuary, Picher.