1 This location was perfect for Ben, who was an avid diver. Ben decided to fake his own death, and is still alive somewhere.More than a decade later, the truth of what happened to Ben McDaniel still isn't known.Disclaimer: I had tested positive for covid this week and was in the middle of getting symptoms while recording the videoso it's a little rough, but there was no way I was going to wait to post this story. Larsa Pippen Is 'In Love' With Marcus Jordan And Swears Dad Michael Is Cool With Their Relationship! For those who are willing to push boundaries to the absolute limits. you'd be dead a long time ago," diver Ben Reymenants, who was part of the rescue mission, says. The ex-employee managed to escape into the woods but was left so shaken that he moved his family out of town and swore he would never return. He was descending down towards the cave which starts 300 feet from the cavern. 2. He made three separate dives that day,[1] going (by his account) 1,700 feet (520m) into the cave, 200 feet (61m) further than those sections Ben had mapped, using a diver propulsion vehicle and smaller tanks to increase his range. One of the divers is believed to have mentioned that he possibly had a leak in his tank.. Would you like email updates of new search results? Ben had endured a failed marriage and a bankrupted construction company that left him despondent. Nevertheless, police refused to treat it as a homicide, much to the dismay of Lynn-Marie Carty. Edd Sorenson (born October 17, 1959) is a technical cave diver known for numerous rescues of lost or trapped divers in the underwater caves of Florida particularly in Vortex Springs and Blue Springs Recreational Park. These are simply consequences of divers exceeding the limits of their personal training and experience. There was no sign of a struggle at his car and his belongings were untouched, including $1,000 in cash. October 23, 2022 7:16 pm. An overwhelming majority of the fatalities occurred in the state of Florida where many flooded caves are located. Volunteer searches continued afterwards at the spring through November, often with the McDaniels and Greer in attendance. Ben Davison. Without cave diving training, Sorenson said, there was no way Ben could have gotten through some of the narrower passages, called restrictions by divers, in the cave. The site is secure. Ben did not have the certification required . Veteran Cave diver Brett Hemphill believes it was likely a painless death. 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 . They hired Steve Keene, who had originally mapped the Vortex Spring cave in 2003, to look. Normally you had to have a buddy system before you was allowed to get the group I never knew them to allow a single diver go on their own. Josh had no choice but to leave his brother and work his way out of the cave, where he called for help. On August 20, 2010, a call went out to cave divers in the region surrounding Vortex Spring, Florida that a diver was missing, and in all likelihood, a body needed to be recovered from . John decided to try and find the formation known as the Birth Canal, an incredibly narrow vertical passage. The authorities said it was too dangerous to retrieve their bodies, but four . They did see the truck the next morning. According to CaveDivers.com.au, 368 cave divers died between 1969 and 2007. By that time the McDaniels had also come to believe that, if he had not died in the cave, Ben had been murdered. In 1991, an experienced cave diver named Parker Turner and his diving partner Bill Gavin were mapping caves in Indian Springs, a cavernous fresh water spring in the Florida Panhandle. His diving career started back in 1995 in the Pacific Northwest that sparked a new passion for the world beneath the water's surface. They are adamant that he wouldnt do something so cruel to them. 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. Move on to the next theory. There are millions of possible ways to die, some less pleasant than others. 2 Coincidentally, Lowell died under suspicious circumstances two years after Ben disappeared. A text message was sent to Edd Sorenson, a veteran cave diver and recovery specialist with nearly 2,500 logged dives. Shortly after, the group of teens saw one of the divers floating face down and when they checked on him, received no response. In addition to the accident and murder theories, the documentary also considers the possibility that Ben staged the disappearance to escape a troubled recent past that included a divorce and financial setbacks. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. A decades-old mystery surrounding the death of a Florida cave diver has been solved by a simple experiment by three scientists in a lab at Florida State. While police had already searched the spring, there were certain passages that they refused to search because it was much too dangerous and they werent experienced enough. "Ben was brave," his father later said. In the morning, a different person came to Kelly's home, and realized his condition had worsened overnight. Maltese soldier dies in diving incident off Marr ix-Xini. Yes, Thai Cave Rescue is based on the true story of the rescue of 12 Thai boys from youth soccer team the Wild Boars and their coach from the Tham Luang Cave, between June 23 and July 10, 2018. When diving, you always have to be alert and aware of your surroundings. And no traces of Ben were ever found inside of Vortex Spring.In this video I breakdown the story of what happened before Ben's journey into Vortex Spring. This is the second of a two-part series about the mysterious disappearance of Ben McDaniel, a certified open water SCUBA diver that has been missing since August 18, 2010. Accessibility "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. 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. He's not in there. But after more than 24 hours trapped upside down, the pressure and stress on his body became too much. In February 2014 two divers died at a depth of more than 100m in a huge cave system in Norway. [1], In 2011 Kelly ameliorated the charges against him by pleading no contest. Diving instruction is offered for all levels; experienced divers come for the underwater wildlife and the cavern, which begins 58 feet (18m) below the surface. [2], In March 2012, the McDaniels arranged for cadaver dogs to search the area of the springs again, but with no results. 2015 Sep;45(3):147-53. The man escaped, and prosecutors later charged Kelly with assault and kidnapping in the incident. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much 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. About a week later concrete was poured into the main opening of the cave, sealing John inside forever. National Library of Medicine "Not only did it endanger the lives of divers who would risk going farther than they should," said Sorenson, who was by then even more firmly convinced that their son had not died in the cave, "it put all of our lives at risk because we have to go in to recover the bodies." "I know what I'm doing and I barely made it through," he told the Commercial Appeal. While the annual number of cave diving fatalities has steadily fallen over the last three decades, from eight to less than three, the proportion of trained divers among those fatalities has doubled. [2], Reports of a missing diver in the Vortex Spring cave spread and other cave divers volunteered for what they assumed would be a recovery operation, taking advantage of the weekend. Thirty separate tests of the water over the next several months showed no sign of an increase in the bacteria that would indicate the presence of a decomposing human body. 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 . Things hadnt been going so well for Ben recently and he needed some time to clear his head. The spring consists of a 200ft basin which leads to an underground cave system. Deputies were alerted Wednesday afternoon after one . It contains a warning to divers of the consequences of diving past that point: PREVENT YOUR DEATH. Paul was not being prescribed opiates. A decades-old mystery surrounding the death of a Florida cave diver has been solved by a simple experiment by three scientists in a lab at Florida State. Other divers, and an official with International Underwater Cave Rescue and Recovery, told him it was too dangerous to search any deeper into the cave. Cave diving is for the most adventurous of scuba divers. It's technical diving at its most technical. He was on a yacht in the Bahamas, leading an expedition. After struggling to breathe for several hours, John became unresponsive shortly before midnight. Tank one, an "aluminum 80" (80 cubic ft capacity), full tank with a regulator, was found 200 feet (61m) inside the cave. The body of a cave diver still remains trapped upside-down after his ghastly death. Last month, Larry Higginbotham, 43, of Biloxi, Miss., drowned inside the cave at Vortex. GO NO FARTHER. In 2008, the McDaniel family suffered a tragedy when their youngest son, Paul, died from a stroke. I also break down the different theories that are circulating around Ben's disappearance.The top 4 theories are:1. What happened in between those two events has completely turned their life upside down. On August 18th 2010, Ben McDaniel, a 30 year old scuba diver, vanished 115ft underwater in the cave at Vortex Spring, in Ponce De Leon, FL. 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. [1], She and McClellan turned their private video short into a feature-length documentary, Ben's Vortex, released in 2012. The McDaniels devoted their family's extensive financial resources to the search, at one point guaranteeing the replacement cost of a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV). The .gov means its official. Her identity Would love your thoughts, please comment. Others theorise he faked his own death. We know our son to know he wouldnt put us through that again, said Patty, Bens mother. His wallet, with almost $1,100 in cash, and cell phone were in the cab of his truck; dive logs showed that he had explored the cave and a map he made was also found. She realized that he had, in fact, gotten very far into the cave. 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? He found nothing no body, and no evidence of one such as increased activity by carnivorous aquatic scavengers, nor any evidence that Ben had gotten into those sections, such as marks on the cave walls or disturbed silt. He had a failed marriage and financial trouble. However, not only did skilled and experienced divers . "[1], In mid-August, four months into his Florida sojourn, Ben returned to Tennessee for a week. Seig Lu. PMC This policy was instituted after the deaths of 13 divers in the cave during the 1990s, and in response to threats from the state to ban diving in the cave entirely. Afterwards, she and her husband Robert McClellan, both certified cave divers and documentary filmmakers, went to Vortex Spring to make a short video. Emily was also expecting their second child at the time, a boy who was born the following year and named after his dad. Hmmmm! Sign up to the Daily Star's newsletter. [22], By 2011, it seemed unlikely that Ben's body would be found in the cave. The . All Rights Reserved. On November 24, the group ventured into the Nutty Putty Cave, a popular spelunking spot known for its tight twists, turns and crawls. )[16] In total, 16 divers spent 36 straight days looking for Ben's body in the cave with no results. . In 1987, a woman attempting to break into a home was shot dead. In 2014, two cave divers died at a depth of more than 300 feet while exploring an ice-cold underwater cave system in the Plurdalen valley in central Norway. Two tanks known to belong to McDaniel were found near the entrance to the cave. There were some rather distasteful discussions as well, things that nobody really wanted to do," Sgt Cannon said. Two days later, it was noticed that Ben's car was still in the . [4] (Due to technical issues, it was unable to go any farther than the human divers had ventured. According to the . The Holmes County sheriff's office, which had also been the lead agency investigating the McDaniel disappearance, implied that it had not gotten the full story of what had occurred the night of Kelly's injury and that it had some questions it wanted answered. The Hernando County Sheriff's Office shared this photo of the area near the Buford Springs Cave where the two cave divers died. He accepted the offer and moved into the house in April 2010. official website and that any information you provide is encrypted Ben was murdered and his body disposed of.4. A 10-year estimate of the incidence of decompression illness in a discrete group of recreational cave divers in Australia. This site needs JavaScript to work properly. They were eventually able to partially free him using a rope-pulley system. [1], Some other events reported to have occurred on the day Ben disappeared supported that theory. The father-of-one's tragic mistake was thinking he could squeeze into the same spaces as a six-foot man than he did when he was a lot younger and smaller. But within minutes he realised he was stuck, with no room to turn around or even go backwards. [2], Cronin and fellow employee Eduardo Taran, on their way back from a dive themselves something they often did on Wednesdays after the shop closed saw Ben as he began descending, with his lights on and wearing a helmet, suggesting he was venturing into the cave. Everyone was relieved but then there was a heartbreaking twist. A Warner Bros. It was risky work, and one diver said they had nearly died during the search. Efforts to develop preventative interventions to address these hazards should continue. The sheriff's office also refused to release the autopsy report to the Northwest Florida Daily News despite its status as a public record under the Florida Sunshine Law; it claimed that release of the report would compromise an ongoing investigation. The cavern of their personal training and experience from the cavern interventions to address hazards... Called for help free him using a rope-pulley system recovery specialist with nearly 2,500 dives. 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