Investigative documents detailing the events surrounding a diver's death at Roaring River State Park show that multiple factors likely contributed to the drowning deep inside a cave . Everyone was relieved but then there was a heartbreaking twist. It considers all the theories regarding its subject's disappearance: an accident as originally believed, a murder or coverup of the accident as the McDaniels have sometimes alleged, and the possibility of a staged disappearance to allow Ben to escape his problems, which McClellan believes. Rescuers began a different approach, using air-powered tools to chip away at some of the rock surrounding John. [18], In March 2012, by which time the reward had been increased to $30,000, the fears of the cave divers were realized. This is the dark truth about cave diving. In 2008, the McDaniel family suffered a tragedy when their youngest son, Paul, died from a stroke. Unanswered Questions", "Mississippi Man Killed in Cave Diving Accident", "Questions remain about Lowell Kelly's death", "Parents of lost diver pin hopes for closure on team of dogs", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Disappearance_of_Ben_McDaniel&oldid=1104006595, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 12 August 2022, at 01:54. An estimated 92,000 people died at the camp, according to the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem. Consequently he was fined, and sentenced to seven years of probation. But when John breathed in again, his chest expanded and he was wedged inside for good. They hired a Florida private investigator, Lynn-Marie Carty, who found that other people associated with Vortex Spring besides Kelly had criminal records. A guest drove Kelly to his home in Ponce de Leon, helped Kelly shower and then placed a blanket over him and left Kelly to rest in the bathtub. The sheriffs office said the investigation into the deaths is ongoing. Results: 27-30. While divers couldnt find Ben, they did find two decompression tanks which are left by divers as they ascend to avoid decompression sickness. 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 . 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. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the At 46, Brod was a highly regarded diver, a gruff, opinionated man who as a boy in El Campo had swum along . May 26, 2022. In fact, he owed the IRS $48, 861. . News, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, the worlds leading global business publication "There is just as much reason to look above the water for Ben's body as there was to look below it in the cave," she told the Commercial Appeal. 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. He had a new girlfriend in Florida and had been talking about starting his own business. Seeing a massive great white shark ambushing Ben and dragging him off mid-sentence makes for a terrifying jolt, but the subsequent grey blur could hardly be called chilling. On his nights out with Greer, he told her of plans to eventually start a diving-related business. Ed Sorenson, an experienced diver who owns a dive shop, searched the spring scrupulously. Replies 39 Views 2,017. In Ron Howard's "Thirteen Lives," out Friday on Prime Video, Viggo Mortensen plays Rick Stanton, a British cave diver who recounts his rescue of a Thai boys soccer team from a monsoon-flooded cave. By that point John had been hanging upside down for more than eight hours. 2 Coincidentally, Lowell died under suspicious circumstances two years after Ben disappeared. The Hernando County Sheriff's Office shared this photo of the area near the Buford Springs Cave where the two cave divers died. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Dive-related fatalities among tourist and local divers in the northern Croatian littoral (1980-2010). CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. He inched his way into the Birth Canal head first, wiggling forward using his hips, stomachs and fingers. Equipment failure and training are rarely an issue for experienced divers, while insufficient training is the most . 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. On November 24, the group ventured into the Nutty Putty Cave, a popular spelunking spot known for its tight twists, turns and crawls. Before However, since Ben wasnt certified to go past the gate, makes it difficult for him to find a buddy to also engage in this reckless behavior. [1] But on the night of the 18th, they instead went back to Taran's house for coffee. About a week later concrete was poured into the main opening of the cave, sealing John inside forever. 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. What happened next is enshrined in mystery. 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. They are adamant that he wouldnt do something so cruel to them. advertisement. The authorities said it was too dangerous to retrieve their bodies, but four . Efforts to develop preventative interventions to address these hazards should continue. Very interesting. Morbidology is a weekly true crime podcast created and hosted by Emily G. Thompson. 2 days of his truck being in the dive shop parking lot before anyone became alarmed. In 2004, Dave Shaw completed a record-breaking dive at Bushman's Hole. However, police would not name the individuals who had taken Kelly home and found him there in the morning. Ben reached the locked gate at the entrance to the cave; only experienced divers were given a key to the lock. 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. Would you like email updates of new search results? [10] At the entrance is a sign depicting the Grim Reaper which warns divers of the dangers of continuing onwards. Perhaps his body had been secretly removed from the cave before searching began and disposed of on land or it had washed out through the spring's outlet. Rescuers from the Utah County Sheriff's Office arrived and began a complicated extraction attempt, made worse by the fact that John was in "absolutely the worst spot in the cave". No one is known to have seen him since. Ben went into Vortex Spring on August 18th, 2010 and was never seen or heard from again. One of the divers is believed to have mentioned that he possibly had a leak in his tank.. We know our son to know he wouldnt put us through that again, said Patty, Bens mother. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. Ten people, including two who were found Monday, have had fatal incidents inside the Eagle's Nest cave dive area in Western Florida since 1981. He called his mother on his cell phone, the last contact he had with his family. Using investigative research combined with primary audio, Morbidology takes an in-depth look at true crime cases from all across the world. [2] The insinuation of cowardice alienated divers who had already risked their lives searching the cave,[17] and raised fears among them that it would only encourage untrained divers to enter the cave and take potentially fatal risks for the reward money. Rescue efforts were due to get underway on June 24 with local British diver Vern Unsworth going alone. That's right, the second most dangerous extreme sports by death rate statistics, cave diving. 1:10 AM EDT, Fri June 24, 2022. Some of the worst scuba accidents occur because of inexperienced divers making small mistakes. It was risky work, and one diver said they had nearly died during the search. Home. While Ben frequented the spring, he never received sufficient training and wasnt considered an experienced diver. Epub 2013 Jan 31. Undersea Hyperb Med. 2012;58:57-79. doi: 10.1159/000338582. The British cave diver who led the rescue of the Thai boys' soccer team and personally saved the captain, Duangpetch Promthep, has opened up about the heartbreaking death of the 17-year-old. Please enable it to take advantage of the complete set of features! [2], On August 18, the Wednesday after he returned to the Santa Rosa Beach house, he went up to Vortex Spring again. What happened next is enshrined in mystery. It was "discovered" by Jim Bowden and Ann Kristovich on a reconnaissance trip made at the end of two weeks of exploration and surveying in the Nacimiento Santa Clara, a cave system at the . After resurfacing he filled his tanks at the dive shop, a transaction recorded on security cameras (it is not known what he filled those tanks with). On Valentine's Day of 2000, 9-year-old Asha Degree packed her bags in the middle of On December, 24, 1945, a fire destroyed the Sodder family's home in Fayetteville, West Virginia, Dorothy was harassed relentlessly by a terrifying stalker who ultimately abducted and killed her. Trained cave divers who died in the most recent time period were older but little else differed. #cave #cavediving #cavestory #disappearance #disappeared #diving #accidentOn August 18th, 2010, 30-year-old open water diver, Ben McDaniel, was last seen div. Witnesses came forward to say they had encountered Ben on the evening of the 18th of August. 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. Former Firefighter Richard Stanton played a crucial role in the Tham Luang cave rescue in Thailand in 2018. Manatee Springs SP cave fatality. HHS Vulnerability Disclosure, Help "It would have affected his ability to breathe adequately.". Yesterday at 8:16 AM. By that point John had been hanging upside down for more than eight hours. Updated #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. Three tanks believed to belong to Ben were recovered. Cookie Notice His parents and girlfriend say the move was proving beneficial, as Ben was beginning to think and talk about moving on from his recent personal setbacks. ZACATON: The Tragic Death of Sheck Exley. 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 . In addition, he incurred a hefty tax debt (est. The oldest of three sons born to Shelby and Patty McDaniel, a wealthy couple who lived in Collierville, Tennessee, outside Memphis, he had returned to live with his parents after his marriage ended in divorce and his construction business failed, the latter leaving him with tax debts of almost $50,000 to the Internal Revenue Service and the state of Tennessee. Scuba diving is a safe sport. Veteran Cave diver Brett Hemphill believes it was likely a painless death. Her identity Would love your thoughts, please comment. Ben wasnt an experienced diver thus he had no key. Even with improvements in technology, the greatest hazards faced by cave divers remain unchanged. Lowell Kelly, who had owned Vortex Spring since 2007, was facing criminal charges. Ben's brother who supposedly died from a stroke, actually died from a drug overdose; according to one pathologist there wasn't the slightest sign of a stroke. Privacy Policy. Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}304617N 855653W / 30.77149N 85.94812W / 30.77149; -85.94812, 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. A spelunker is somebody who explores caves as a hobby. We and our partners use cookies on this site to improve our service, perform analytics, personalize advertising, measure advertising performance, and remember website preferences. you'd be dead a long time ago," diver Ben Reymenants, who was part of the rescue mission, says. Diving Hyperb Med. The most common cause of death was asphyxia due to drowning, preceded by running out of breathing gas, usually after getting lost owing to a loss of visibility caused by suspended silt. It's technical diving at its most technical. 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). Cave divers died [ 10 ] at the camp, according to the cave sealing! Diving-Related business on his cell phone, the second most dangerous extreme sports by death rate statistics, diving! Anyone became alarmed chip away at some of the rock surrounding John chip away at some of the complete of... 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