Two die while digging coal at Stone Gap Road

County road crews searched the area where two men were found dead due to a slide Friday morning.
Deputy coroner Billy Aaron Smith says two men were found dead around 2 a.m. Friday by family members searching for them.
Sheriff Patrick Robinson, Chief Deputy Sheriff Clifton Jones, and County Road Foreman Lester Harmon were on the scene Friday morning to search the area further.
"We wanted to ensure we found everything vital to this investigation," Robinson said.  "We did find a shovel and a pic axe the men were using to remove the coal."
Robinson said he felt the men were digging the coal for personal use.
"That's what it appears," he said. 
The two men, identified as Jonathon Hoskins and Donald Short, were supposedly digging coal with hand tools in the Stone Gap area off Big Wildcat (Oneida) at an old coal mine when the bank collapsed and covered them.  A mine opening next to Stone Gap Road adjoined the large coal seam.
They were last seen on Christmas Day, according to Smith.
"The men were digging coal on Stone Gap Road when the bank collapsed," Smith said.  "County road crews were brought in to help uncover the bodies."