ben cave diving death

Updated. 4. Ben Died and his body was removed as to not cause too much bad press for the spring.3. Two cave divers died in a possible drowning in Florida, authorities said Thursday. The grim mystery of where Ben is haunts the McDaniels family. Josh had no choice but to leave his brother and work his way out of the cave, where he called for help. The McDaniels began considering the possibility that he had died as a result of foul play, and that his diving disappearance was staged to cover up a crime. Marson Kay, 29, of Gainesville apparently became disoriented during a dive in Weeki Wachee's main spring and got wedged in an underwater cavern, authorities said. The main causes of death have been drowning when cave diving, drowning as the result of flooding or negotiating deep water, injuries incurred from falling from a height, and injuries incurred as the result of rock falls.In ten cases the bodies have not been recovered. He was given an IV drip and some food and water, and was even able to speak to his wife over a police radio. [1], Shelby does not believe Ben had any intention of abandoning his life. 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. On November 24, the group ventured into the Nutty Putty Cave, a popular spelunking spot known for its tight twists, turns and crawls. He has never been seen again. . What happened in between those two events has completely turned their life upside down. What happened next is enshrined in mystery. Ben was last seen by two Vortex Spring (VS) employees at the gate blocking untrained and non-certified divers from entering the most dangerous parts of the cave. [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. [1][2] The state of Florida issued his family a death certificate in 2013. News media in the Panhandle and Memphis followed the search closely. [13] Experienced divers scoured the cave, investigating small crevices and fissures Ben might have entered in a panicked attempt to exit the cave, as his tanks ran low, a pattern found in other cave diving deaths. . if Ben wanted to end his life this way, then why would he go back to his parents and leave a note thanking them for giving him a chance, because he could have just dealt himself a fatal blow in the city where he lived before, my theory is that Ben wanted to end his life with- because of debts or problems at work, as he wanted to become a diver and get consent to penetrate the same narrow passages as professional divers. "[1], The McDaniels did what they could to help the search. He is thought to be part of the group that first found the boys on the Monday. [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. 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. If Edd Sorenson says Bens not in the cave, hes not there. At 46, Brod was a highly regarded diver, a gruff, opinionated man who as a boy in El Campo had swum along . Methods: THERES NOTHING WORTH DYING FOR it ominously reads. "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. Assisted by helicopters, they searched the swamps along the spring's outflow into Blue Creek and Sandy Creek to the Choctawhatchee River. Ben's tanks, wet suit and other diving equipment were not present and there were no signs of a struggle near his truck or anywhere else he could have been. Ben reached the locked gate at the entrance to the cave; only experienced divers were given a key to the lock. That's practically a death sentence when you're scuba diving, so always be careful. July 2 - Rick and John make contact with the boys and their t coach two and half . Lengthy searches have only located some anomalously placed and filled decompression tanks; many of the divers who took part in those searches believe that if McDaniel is indeed dead, his body is not in the cave as he was too large to enter its narrower passages. Emergency medical services responded to a call and he was admitted to a hospital in Pensacola. Data regarding trained cave divers were divided into two equal 15-year time periods. This is the dark truth about cave diving. In February 2014 two divers died at a depth of more than 100m in a huge cave system in Norway. HHS Vulnerability Disclosure, Help [2][1] Beginning at the gate, over 1,600 feet (490m) through the area's limestone bedrock have been mapped, to a depth of 310 feet (94m); the cave's full extent is unknown. Using investigative research combined with primary audio, Morbidology takes an in-depth look at true crime cases from all across the world. Rescue efforts were due to get underway on June 24 with local British diver Vern Unsworth going alone. 1 This location was perfect for Ben, who was an avid diver. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much )[16] In total, 16 divers spent 36 straight days looking for Ben's body in the cave with no results. The cave is located in the Chassahowitzka Wildlife Park in Weeki Wachee, roughly an hour north of Tampa. Earlier that day, a diver had had a confrontation with several teenagers on the property about their drinking; they eventually left but may have come back in an attempt to exact revenge. According to the BBC, local officials had given up . 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. One of the divers is believed to have mentioned that he possibly had a leak in his tank.. Hmmmm! The entrance to Nutty Putty Cave was boarded up and declared a public health hazard. This site needs JavaScript to work properly. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. Jimlast-minute fill-in, Support Diver Number Six, mere mortal among godshas rescued the boys' coach, the monk who had done the impossible, too: kept 12 children alive in a flooded cave . In fact, he owed the IRS $48, 861. Lie detector test are easily beatable if you know how. A Warner Bros. 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. At the time she believed that Ben, whatever his fate, was not in the cave's depths. Everyone was relieved but then there was a heartbreaking twist. . [2], Ben was 6feet 1inch (185cm) tall and weighed 210 pounds (95kg), one inch (2.5cm) taller and 20 pounds (9.1kg) heavier than Sorenson. 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. On the evening Ben disappeared, an inebriated Lowell showed up at the spring and asked if it was too late to go diving. They hired a Florida private investigator, Lynn-Marie Carty, who found that other people associated with Vortex Spring besides Kelly had criminal records. It is unknown at this time if all the equipment was working properly, the sheriffs office added. Morbidology is a weekly true crime podcast created and hosted by Emily G. Thompson. However, police would not name the individuals who had taken Kelly home and found him there in the morning. They are adamant that he wouldnt do something so cruel to them. 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. 2023 Cable News Network. 7. RAID continues to explain that the most common . Ben did not have the certification required . [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]. 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. Man, 50, who sold guns to gangsters across Britain jailed for 19 years, Police accused of spending just ONE day a week fighting crime, Parole DENIED for Robert F. 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Bethesda, MD 20894, Web Policies "I simply see no reasonable evidence that he is NOT in the cave," the Commercial Appeal quoted her as writing in an email. He had first taken it up at the age of 15, practicing with his tanks in the family pool. About a week later concrete was poured into the main opening of the cave, sealing John inside forever. He was found unresponsive at his home after suffering blunt force trauma to the head. These are simply consequences of divers exceeding the limits of their personal training and experience. After struggling to breathe for several hours, John became unresponsive shortly before midnight. Ben would have been aware of this requirement, if he had been researching cave diving, as his parents reported. Taran, who said he had let Ben into the cave despite knowing he lacked certification to dive in it, passed a lie detector test of his account. 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. Something went wrong, please try again later. In 2008, the McDaniel family suffered a tragedy when their youngest son, Paul, died from a stroke. He had left his dog in Santa Rosa Beach and had not given Greer any indication of such plans. The PubMed wordmark and PubMed logo are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). There were no signs of activity from aquatic scavengers like one would assume if there were a deceased body down there. Two days later, it was noticed that Ben's car was still in the . A 10-year estimate of the incidence of decompression illness in a discrete group of recreational cave divers in Australia. The former owner, Lowell Kelly, was charged with driving an ex-employee into the woods and accused him of stealing money before beating him viciously with a baseball bat. They either succumbed to disease and hunger, or were murdered in gas chambers or were shot and killed. We know our son to know he wouldnt put us through that again, said Patty, Bens mother. Neither of the divers had any obvious signs of trauma and both appeared to have the appropriate diving equipment. 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. [22], Kelly remained comatose, and was eventually placed in hospice care, where he died the following month. On the 18th of August, 2010, Ben McDaniel dived into an underwater cave at Vortex Springs in Florida, never to be seen again. Two tanks known to belong to McDaniel were found near the entrance to the cave. "Ultimately the decision was made that it was too much risk for the rescuers to remain there in an effort to get him out and the decision was made to leave him in place.". 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. His only option was to keep moving forward, and exhaled the air from his chest so he could fit through the "L-shaped pinpoint" which was just 10 inches across and 18 inches high. Privacy Policy. There were some rather distasteful discussions as well, things that nobody really wanted to do," Sgt Cannon said. By Phil Helsel. There are millions of possible ways to die, some less pleasant than others. But within minutes he realised he was stuck, with no room to turn around or even go backwards. At the entrance to the cave is a sign depicting the Grim Reaper. Shane Thompson, an experienced scuba diver with a passion for cave explorations, died at the Blue Hole State Park when the 43-year-old father and husband got lost and trapped in an unmarked . #cave #cavediving #cavestory #disappearance #disappeared #diving #accidentOn August 18th, 2010, 30-year-old open water diver, Ben McDaniel, was last seen diving in the underwater cave at Vortex Spring in Ponce de Leon, Florida. He was given an IV drip and some food and water, and was even able to speak to his wife over a police radio. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Police assigned divers searched for Ben for days. Today, we're covering the true scary story of deep cave diver Dave Shaw. Takes an in-depth look at true crime podcast created and hosted by Emily G. Thompson, where he for... Cruel to them avid diver pleasant than others placed in hospice care where... 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