http://www.tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/when-a-diver-goes-missing-a-deep-cave-is-scene-of-a-deeper-mystery/1163972. Morbidology is a weekly true crime podcast created and hosted by Emily G. Thompson. On August 20, 2010, Ben McDaniel (born April 15, 1980), of Memphis, Tennessee, United States, was reported missing after employees in the dive shop at Vortex Spring, north of Ponce de Leon, Florida, noticed that his pickup truck had remained in the shop's parking lot for the previous two days.McDaniel, who had been diving regularly at the spring while living in his parents' nearby beach house . [2] They agreed to put up $54,000 to guarantee the cost of replacing a remotely operated underwater vehicle brought to the spring by the Fort Lauderdale police, in case it was lost in the cave. The employees of the dive shop were familiar with Ben McDaniel, and knew his reason for being on the premises was to dive the spring. They didnt want to risk their lives, understandably. [4] A reward they offered was rescinded in 2012 after the death of another diver who may have been trying to collect it, vindicating the criticism of the divers who had warned of that possibility and resented the McDaniels' insinuation that those who had searched for their son at great personal risk had not been "brave" enough.[5]. )[11] His parents later defended him from those criticisms by seeing them as positive traits. While investigating, she found some unsavoury characters associated with the Vortex Spring. Cave diver David John Shaw (Dave Shaw) died more than 10 years later whilst attempting to retrieve Dreyer's cadaver. On Saturday, June 23, 2018, 12 members of a local Thai football team, who were between the ages of 11 and 16, and their 25-year-old assistant coach, entered the Tham Luang Nang Non cave for a day . $50,000), and still deeply affected by the 2008 death of his younger brother Paul from a stroke. Efforts to develop preventative interventions to address these hazards should continue. When their football practice ended on Saturday 23 June, 2018, the 12 members of Wild Boars decided to go cave exploring with assistant coach Ekkaphon . There was no sign of a struggle at his car and his belongings were untouched, including $1,000 in cash. But when John breathed in again, his chest expanded and he was wedged inside for good. John's brother Josh was the first to find him, and tried pulling at his calves but was unsuccessful. Eduardo later passed a lie detector test. [2], Frustrated by the limitations the search had thus far encountered, and increasingly coming to believe that Ben's body was in an area of the cave no one had yet reached, the McDaniels offered a reward of $10,000, raised from money contributed at a benefit held on what would have been their son's 31st birthday, at the end of the year to anyone "brave" enough to go to those places and find it. Unauthorized use of these marks is strictly prohibited. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. In fact, he owed the IRS $48, 861. She realized that he had, in fact, gotten very far into the cave. To this day, they havent given up hope that one day Ben, dead or alive, shall be found. GO NO FARTHER. He was given an IV drip and some food and water, and was even able to speak to his wife over a police radio. Shelby also noted that Ben had seen the impact Paul's death had had on his parents. He had a new girlfriend in Florida and had been talking about starting his own business. The McDaniels were called, and they drove to Florida, along with Greer, to observe from the shore. princeandprincessofwales. We and our partners use cookies on this site to improve our service, perform analytics, personalize advertising, measure advertising performance, and remember website preferences. [1], Shelby does not believe Ben had any intention of abandoning his life. They hoped to show it to the McDaniel family in the hopes of giving them a better understanding of the risks associated with cave diving, and "closure", as Heinerth put it. On November 24, the group ventured into the Nutty Putty Cave, a popular spelunking spot known for its tight twists, turns and crawls. He followed his passions. Ben did not have the certification required . Three teen swimmers led deputies to the bodies of two divers who drowned at Buford Springs in Florida last week Hernando County Sheriff's Office. The worst thing that you can do when you realize something is going wrong is to panic. He was wearing a dive mask, fins, and a wet suit. Cave divers enter an inherently dangerous environment that often includes little visibility, maze-like passageways and a ceiling of rock that prevents a direct ascent to the surface in the event of a problem. Epub 2012 Jul 18. He is thought to be part of the group that first found the boys on the Monday. Ben went into Vortex Spring on August 18th, 2010 and was never seen or heard from again. The cave diving death of Dave Shaw is a multilayered tragedy. The water was rising up the cave wall, and Rob returned through the rapidly filling S-bend, so he wouldn't get trapped without diving gear. Witnesses came forward to say they had encountered Ben on the evening of the 18th of August. By Johnny Diaz. A spelunker is somebody who explores caves as a hobby. 1) Karen Thurston "Cave diver feared dead in accident" Tallahassee Democrat May 16, 1988. When the two men came back up, they talked with one another and then dove back in, authorities said. A private investigator they hired believes that his body may have been removed before any authorities were contacted, or that he may even have been murdered on land and the narrative of his disappearance fabricated as a cover story. Or something more sinister. The juveniles believed the discussion was in regards to going back down into the cave and whether or not they had enough air in their tanks to complete their dive, the sheriffs office added. Assisted by helicopters, they searched the swamps along the spring's outflow into Blue Creek and Sandy Creek to the Choctawhatchee River. . "It's very narrow, very awkward, and it's difficult to get rescuers down there," rescuer Shawn Roundy told media at the time. Authorities in Florida are investigating the deaths of two cave divers at a wildlife park, the Hernando County Sheriff's Office said. In February 2014 two divers died at a depth of more than 100m in a huge cave system in Norway. For the college football player and coach, see, Scuba diver who disappeared during or after a cave dive, Cave diving beyond the locked gate at Vortex Springs, bacteria that would indicate the presence of a decomposing human body, "Theories about Collierville diver's disappearance swirl in vortex of unanswered questions", "When a diver goes missing, a deep cave is scene of a deeper mystery", "Collierville parents pull reward for missing diver", "Article on Ben McDaniel Vortex Springs Case", "What Happened to Ben McDaniel? The body of a cave diver still remains trapped upside-down after his ghastly death. The tragedy began with the 1994 death of Deon Dreyer. The mapped portion of the cave ends at a narrow restriction about 150 feet deep and 1,500 feet of mostly horizontal penetration, about the length of . -- Two cave divers in Florida were found dead after they were reported missing over the weekend, according to police . An equipment failure caused the rope system to plunge John right back into the same gap he'd been trapped in previously, and the rescue operation was back to square one. It was concluded that these tanks had been left behind by Ben. "I simply see no reasonable evidence that he is NOT in the cave," the Commercial Appeal quoted her as writing in an email. By Phil Helsel. [1], In 2011 Kelly ameliorated the charges against him by pleading no contest. Clipboard, Search History, and several other advanced features are temporarily unavailable. Armed with flashlights, they searched the spring. [5], The following month, amid increasing criticism, the McDaniels rescinded the reward offer. 2 Coincidentally, Lowell died under suspicious circumstances two years after Ben disappeared. you'd be dead a long time ago," diver Ben Reymenants, who was part of the rescue mission, says. [2], McDaniel's dives at the site were regular enough that the dive shop employees and other frequent visitors came to know him. . Former Firefighter Richard Stanton played a crucial role in the Tham Luang cave rescue in Thailand in 2018. Two friends plunge 900 ft deep into the water of the Komali Springs in South Africa, to raise the body of a diver who had perished there a decade before. John Edward Jones, 26, was a medical student and experienced spelunker (someone who explores caves as a hobby) who went cave diving with a group of friends while visiting family in Utah for Thanksgiving in 2009.. On November 24, the group ventured into the Nutty Putty Cave, a popular spelunking spot known for . "Due to the circumstances with his body being held the way it was and being wedged, it was most likely difficult to get a full deep breath," Sgt Cannon said. The authorities said it was too dangerous to retrieve their bodies, but four . John Edward Jones, 26, was a medical student and experienced spelunker (someone who explores caves as a hobby) who went cave diving with a group of friends while visiting family in Utah for Thanksgiving in 2009. July 2 - Rick and John make contact with the boys and their t coach two and half . 1:10 AM EDT, Fri June 24, 2022. On the evening of 19 February, 1994, Gloria Ramirez was rushed to the emergency room 12-year-old Georgia Crews from Montverde, Florida, disappeared while walking to a nearby convenience store. July 1 - The progress of Belgian cave diver Ben Reymenants and engineers pumping out water convince them to stay. Cave diving is for the most adventurous of scuba divers. By that time the McDaniels had also come to believe that, if he had not died in the cave, Ben had been murdered. "[1], In mid-August, four months into his Florida sojourn, Ben returned to Tennessee for a week. Ben reached the locked gate at the entrance to the cave; only experienced divers were given a key to the lock. Normally, because cave diving is so dangerous, it's logical to think that he experienced an unfortunate accident while diving. Something went wrong, please try again later. His doomed final dive was caught on camera. This forum is for the discussion of diving Accidents and Incidents and has. Last modified on Fri 14 Jul 2017 15.42 EDT. 4. He soon realized that very few divers "in the world" possessed the training and skill to attempt such a dangerous cave diving recovery. Neither of the divers had any obvious signs of trauma and both appeared to have the appropriate diving equipment. He told them he was working on getting certified as an instructor so he could find a job and that he was researching cave diving with an eye toward getting that certification as well. (According to a 2014 online comment by his father, he could not find anyone at Vortex Spring willing to be his diving partner, so he did his dives alone. They either succumbed to disease and hunger, or were murdered in gas chambers or were shot and killed. Through the years, McAniff, of Rhode Island, said he has seen the number of diving deaths decrease while the sport's popularity is on the rise. This article is about the scuba diver who went missing in 2010. While he was initially believed to have drowned on that dive, and his parents still strongly believe his body is in an inaccessible reach of the extensive cave system, no trace of him has ever been found. They went through their very long decompression burdened by the "mental horror that just took place.". 2011 Jul-Aug;38(4):257-60. 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Ben Reymenants, a Belgian cave diver who operates a dive shop in Thailand, was part of the group that first found the boys on Monday, after more than a week of searching. [1], But then during the research process, she was able to read Ben's dive logs and the map he had made. This site needs JavaScript to work properly. One ex-navy diver, Saman Gunan, died in the cave last Friday. As he watched Ben attempt to open the gate, he retrieved his own key and opened the gate, allowing Ben to swim though. Several posters on scubaboard.com leaned towards this theory, adding that hes probably living it up in Mexico. Cave divers usually place extra "air" tanks, needed for decompression, at points along their exit route so they can follow them out, and not only at the entrance to the cave. The McDaniels have vehemently rejected that theory, pointing to the dog and girlfriend he left behind as well as doubting that he would have knowingly subjected them to that level of grief after seeing how his brother's death had affected them. "It's very narrow, very awkward, and it's difficult to get rescuers down there," rescuer Shawn Roundy told media at the time. The PubMed wordmark and PubMed logo are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). A true story of death and survival in the world's most dangerous sport, cave diving. The McDaniel family hired Lynn-Marie Carty, a private investigator. Unable to load your collection due to an error, Unable to load your delegates due to an error. Trained cave divers who died in the most recent time period were older but little else differed. Move on to the next theory. According to the BBC, local officials had given up . He has never been seen again. Did you encounter any technical issues? [1][2] The state of Florida issued his family a death certificate in 2013. After struggling to breathe for several hours, John became unresponsive shortly before midnight. "He's not in great shape physically, there's a lot of pressure on his upper body and back but he's been amazingly resilient and he has incredibly high spirits under the circumstances," Sgt Spencer Cannon said at the time. Without a body, closure is impossible. Ben wasnt an experienced diver thus he had no key. [2][1], At Vortex Spring, which claims on its website to be the largest diving facility in the state,[8] divers descend into clear waters at a constant temperature of 68F (20C) fed by the Floridan Aquifer. Multiple divers searched through the weekend, but did not find Ben. [9], For the most experienced divers, some of whom come from around the world, the main attraction of Vortex Spring is the cave, which starts 300 feet (91m) from the cavern, at a depth of 115 feet (35m). 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