PARKERSBURG — Gov. Patrick Morrisey began his visit to Parkersburg on Thursday with a moment of silence for Steve Lipscomb, a miner whose body was found Thursday morning at the Rolling Thunder Mine in Nicholas County.

Lipscomb’s body was found by a two-man rescue team at 7:37 a.m. Thursday, according to a statement from the Governor’s Office. Efforts to rescue him had been underway since a section of the mine wall collapsed and caused flooding Saturday.

“It’s a sad day, but I want to make sure we’re honoring the brave miners,” Morrisey said at the Parkersburg Municipal Building during an event to announce upcoming energy investments in the state. “This person was a foreman. By all accounts, he was working to save the lives of others down in that mine (after) the accident happened. So I hope we all keep him in our hearts and prayers today, and we let everyone know that miners are part of the family and we’re all together on Team West Virginia. …When you lose a miner in West Virginia, you lose a part of your family.”

Efforts to find the man had been ongoing, utilizing specialized dive teams and a de-watering effort to remove water from the mine. According to the release from Morrisey’s office, each shift included roughly eight workers on the surface coordinating and loading supplies and another eight staging and fusing a new waterline.

At approximately 6 a.m. Thursday, water levels receded sufficiently for rescue crews to enter, the statement said.

According to a release from Alpha Metallurgical Resources Inc., which owns the mine, Lipscomb was a 42-year-old Elkview resident who was last seen attempting to make sure his crew made it out safely. All other miners in the area were able to safely evacuate, the release said.

“Our hearts are broken,” said Andy Eidson, Alpha’s chief executive officer. “Steve joined our company in 2006 and was a dedicated employee, respected leader and friend to many. His actions to ensure the safety of his crew members were heroic. On behalf of the entire organization, we extend our prayers and deepest sympathies to his wife, two children and all who knew and cared for him.”

Morrisey had been scheduled to speak again on energy topics in Clarksburg but postponed that event to travel to the mine Thursday evening.

Other state leaders offered their condolences Thursday as well.

“Miners represent the very best of West Virginia and this community is deeply ingrained in our state’s history,” U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said on X. “I’ve been deeply inspired by our heroic first responders and divers doing everything possible to bring their colleague home to his loved ones. They demonstrated immense courage and resilience in the face of treacherous circumstances, and I thank them for their efforts.”

“Please join Mina and me in praying for the repose of Steve Lipscomb’s soul, for his family, and for the whole community at Rolling Thunder Mine,” U.S. Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., said on X. “This is a horrible tragedy. Our brave coal miners make an extraordinary sacrifice to power our communities.”

According to the Associated Press, this is the third death at an Alpha facility in West Virginia this year. The others occurred in nearby Raleigh County: an elevator being tested struck a miner on a first-floor platform in August at Alpha subsidiary Marfork Coal’s processing facility; and a coal seam fell on a contractor in February at Alpha’s Black Eagle underground operation, according to the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration.

Staff reporter Douglass Huxley contributed to this story.