'Bones', a resident of Ulster Spring, Trelawny, pointing to the 200-foot sinkhole from which he and other residents rescued Deacon Ewin 'James' York on September 4, 2006. - Photo by Adrian Frater

Eighty-five-year-old church deacon Ewin 'James' York fell into a 200-foot 'sinkhole' on September 2 and was trapped under-ground for over 36 hours.

Mr. York, of Ulster Spring, Trelawny, now has more than enough reason to be thankful to God after being rescued from what could well have turned out to be his final resting place.

Shortly after 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 2, the senior citizen was on his way to visit a friend when he took a wrong turn in the twilight and fell feet first into the hole. Trapped between two rocks, in the dark, underground, he cried out for help but nobody heard him.

On Sunday, when Mr. York, who lives alone, did not show up at church as is customary, his children, who live elsewhere in the community, went to his house to search for him. Not finding him, they immediately raised an alarm and launched a manhunt with residents.

A search party eventually found him the following Monday, shaken but not stirred. "God is good, and I know that so I never lost faith during the time I was down there," he told The Gleaner from his hospital bed. "God is good and his mercies endureth forever."