Urban Exploring: Students charged as photo shoot leads to fa

CINCINNATI (Joe Webb) -- A 19-year-old girl went to the hospital and three of her college classmates were headed to court after a failed photo op in an abandoned brewery. Three young women and a young man face criminal trespassing charges after breaking into the former home of Hudepohl Brewing Tuesday night, Sept. 29. All four were students at Northern Kentucky University. One of them was taking pictures inside the abandoned Queensgate building for a class project. One of the young women, Catherine Tuttle, fell into an elevator shaft and had to be rescued by Cincinnati firefighters. Local 12 News talked to one of the young women Wednesday who said she was invited to go along on the adventure Tuesday morning. She said the four of them scooted under a fence and weren't inside long before the girl fell and got hurt. The building has been abandoned for about 30 years. It's partially torn down and it's huge. The Hudepohl Brewery was a favorite target of people who call themselves urban explorers. And they've thoroughly documented its decaying interior. Representatives of the current owner, The Port Authority, were back on-site Wednesday trying to secure the rotting hulk's porous exterior. Gail Paul with the Greater Cincinnati Port Authority said, "We found the fence has been cut in the back. We are working to shore that up today and we've added additional security measures that are going to be happening within the next few weeks." Not soon enough for four enterprising NKU students. One, Local 12 was told, was taking pictures for a class project. One of the young women told Local 12 the injured woman had been inside before but just minutes after illegally entering the place she stepped into and fell down and elevator shaft. "It's kind of an underground thing. It doesn't get too much press, too much play, photographer Ronny Salerno said talking about urban exploring. He's made 100 forays into abandoned buildings, including the Hudepohl Brewery. He said it was not for the faint-hearted or inexperienced. "There's just a kind of knowledge you gain after doing it for a while. With them doing it for a class or whatever they were doing it for it just seems they weren't being that careful," said Salerno. The injured woman will survive but sources said she suffered at least one broken bone. She and her friends will be in court in two weeks. The Port Authority is taking this seriously. Paul said, "Safety on any of our properties is our biggest concern. And I understand this is an exciting old building but it's past its use. The tours are not open." The Port Authority said it plans on extending the razor wire around the entire perimeter. It's owned the property since 2014 and they're sure exactly what they will do with it. It will likely be demolished in the next few years. The young woman who spoke to Local 12 said she had been summoned to court October 13. All four students were charged with criminal trespassing. Follow Joe Webb on Twitter @joewebbwkrc, and LIKE him on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @Local12 and LIKE us on Facebook for updates!