Accident at Vortex Springs 8-20-10

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Morrison is a great cavern dive and as for safety I would put it far above the cavern at Ginnie.

Fixed it for ya.

Ok....I ay the following now to point fingers, but in situations like this everyone must consider their own potential role in the result. Follow my thought process. An out of state, non-cave certified diver manipulates the gate open to gain access to an area he should not be in. He does this not by chance....but because he has evidently done this before. Certainly he is not the only one. Does Vortex have knowledge that this has taken place in the past? If so, should there have been an effort to install a better gate system? And before you flame me and say Votex is not responsbile for the actions and poor decisions of others....( which is in part true...)....when they assume a certain level of responsibility to protect people from such poor decisions ( ie...putting a gate up in the first place) shouldn't they make sure they fulfill that responsibility appropriately? I mean.....otherwise....why have the gate up in the first place?

The current owners/managers of Vortex didn't install the gate, former owners/managers did. Should they still be responsible?

Since all of this is foreign to me could you explain the difference of a wet and dry suit and why you should wear one and not the other when making certain dives?

And what is trimix consist of? Is it required to cave dive and used specifically for cave diving only?

I think Rob brought up drysuits because you can get further into a tight spot in a wetsuit, due to it hugging your body much tighter... at the expense of warmth usually.

Trimix... would have allowed a much clearer head than diving air(read as he was impaired at 160' of depths).

I do know that he posted his dive profile for the Vortex dive online. He posted as a Monday dive. I do not know if he postponed it to Wednesday or did it twice. I do know from the profile it was a hardcore dive for someone not properly trained. 8 bottles total, a 232 min. dive to 140 some odd feet.

Where was his dive plan posted?

The search wasn't called off. A team just went down not too long ago.

Who was the team? The team diving Friday and Saturday, atleast for the most part, headed home. Some of their homes are closer than others.

Where in the thread has something been posted disputing the validity of the original poster stating that the he heard the the owner state that the key was checked out?

Disputing information may not have been posted on this forum, but it was very well present, with witnesses, onsite. We can just call it contradicting information, if you'd like.

Vortex is smaller than Rock Bluff?

At the back, yes, and the bottom isn't rock, its extremely silty clay, so you get to go back through(worse than) that, blind, on the way out.

If location is identified, but recovery not possible, then what?

Do they close off a section?

Are there health risks introduced to other divers?

The section would pretty much be closed off by what makes the section anyway... too damned tight.

 

[RhinoGuy]

I spoke to one of the rescue divers that was on the scene the first day and I asked him what the deal was with the lock/key/gate issue. I was told that there was no problem with the Vortex lock...but evidently the hinge portion of the gate had been broken at some point and another lock or couple of locks had been used to create some type of make shift "door" that would open from the opposite direction, using the Vortex locked side as the hinge side. I am told that THIS is how he gained access to the cave....by using the hinge side as the opening side ...NOT using the Vortex lock or the Vortex key.

The diver was on site the first day and saw this.....is this what everyone else is referring to?
If so....this is odd. Very Odd. It would certainly create more questions for sure.

How often do people go to the gate? Would something like this not have been noticed? Or would people assume it was a makeshift hinge? I cant imagine someone taking a chain and lock diving with them and rigging up the secure gate like that.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Whats so interesting about a gate to take notice to it? There's plenty of gates on dry land to ogle at if thats your thing

Regardless, one of the Vortex workers noticed it, dude had already been missing though.

 

[Rick Murchison]

Vortex is the only cave system in Florida that I'm aware of that has a lock/gate at all (other than some permanently gated systems). Thankfully, it is NOT a widespread practice to put gates and locks on all of the caves and springs. Most cave divers wouldn't feel very comfortable locking themselves inside a cave system. I know I wouldn't.

No, they ask you to false lock it, and to close the door behind you. I put the lock through one side of the chain, lock it and twist the chain around itself so it appears to be locked.

Meister481 is correct. Do not lock yourself in the cave!
With reference to this mishap, the gate's only relevance is further proof of the mishap diver's irreverence for rules and safety practices.
Rick

 

[Sicily957]

I don't think the dive team today were local divers.

 

[Hetland]

Vortex Springs: Still No Sign of Missing Cave-Diver
Reporter: Meagan O'Halloran
Email Address: meagan.ohalloran@wjhg.com

Posted: 6:41 PM Aug 23, 2010
Vortex Springs: Still No Sign of Missing Cave-Diver

30-year old Ben McDaniel of Collierville, Tennessee, was last seen Wednesday night at Vortex Springs in Ponce de Leon. Divers are continuing to search for his body in an underwater cave that runs more than16-hundred feet.

Authorities have released the name of a diver, who's been missing since last week.

30-year old Ben McDaniel of Collierville, Tennessee, was last seen Wednesday night at Vortex Springs in Ponce de Leon.

Divers are continuing to search for his body in an underwater cave that runs more than16-hundred feet.

Specially trained search and recovery teams made their 4th dive Monday, trying to find 30-year old Ben McDaniel. The search turned up unsuccessful for the 4th day in a row.

McDaniel has been missing since Wednesday and the search has been on since Friday.

Authorities believe he died during an underwater cave at Vortex Springs.
They found what they believe to be McDaniel’s decomposition tanks staged 300-ft into the cave, but still no sign of McDaniel.

The state park’s map of the cave ends at 1450 feet.
Divers have already explored the cave well past that, pressing more than 1600 feet into the cavern.

Even though diving is a buddy-sport, the diver who went in on the 4th attempt went alone, because the conditions are becoming dangerous

"Some divers feel when they go beyond the normal point in the cave, it's better for them to be alone because the cave is so small and confined, and one person can barely go through it to start with. Another person would make more difficulty in turning around, backing up, or exiting the cave. Also, you have the situation where the more you stir up the water-- you have less visibility because of the sediment at the bottom of the spring" explains Capt. Harry Hamilton with the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office.

Last week dive shop workers confirmed they did not issue McDaniel a key to the locked gate at the opening of the cave but his family members claim McDaniel had extensive cave diving experience. They also say a Vortex employee left the gate open for McDaniel, who they say was negotiating with the park management to become a diving instructor.

The more time that passes, the more stories begin to surface.
The question has even been asked if McDaniel is even in the cave at all.

"There are all kinds of possibilities he could be somewhere else. Again, we want to rule out this one location and it's an extremely hard location to get to. At this time we don't see any signs of foul play; we feel like it's important to check this last location in the cave. We're exploring other options and other ideas, however it appears he planned to make a dive deep into the cave and possibly didn’t make it out" Hamilton says.

On Tuesday, the Sheriff’s Office plans to bring in K-9 dogs to help with a more thorough search above ground.

Underwater recovery efforts will resume for a 5th attempt and authorities say they are even conducting a nationwide search for cave-diving experts.

McDaniel’s family is watching and waiting and hoping for answers.

There are 4-McDaniel siblings.

Paul, the youngest brother and an avid mountain climber, died of a stroke 2-years ago.
If Ben McDaniel is inside of the cave, he'll be the second to die an untimely death.

If you have any information that will help authorities in the McDaniel case, please call the Holmes County Sheriff's Office at 850-547-3681

 

[ScubaSteve]

They found what they believe to be McDaniel’s decomposition tanks staged 300-ft into the cave, but still no sign of McDaniel.

It is no wonder people put no faith in these stories.

 

[Meister481]

Vortex Springs: Still No Sign of Missing Cave-Diver
Reporter: Meagan O'Halloran
Email Address: meagan.ohalloran@wjhg.com

She's trying to make it interesting. News report epic fail.

 

[Cave Diver]

It is no wonder people put no faith in these stories.

:gp:

 

[Crush]

Ok....I ay the following now to point fingers, but in situations like this everyone must consider their own potential role in the result. Follow my thought process. An out of state, non-cave certified diver manipulates the gate open to gain access to an area he should not be in. He does this not by chance....but because he has evidently done this before. Certainly he is not the only one. Does Vortex have knowledge that this has taken place in the past? If so, should there have been an effort to install a better gate system? And before you flame me and say Votex is not responsbile for the actions and poor decisions of others....( which is in part true...)....when they assume a certain level of responsibility to protect people from such poor decisions ( ie...putting a gate up in the first place) shouldn't they make sure they fulfill that responsibility appropriately? I mean.....otherwise....why have the gate up in the first place?

...he heard with his own ears the woman state that a male had checked out the key and not returned it. Certainly this leaves an opening for a person other than Ben to have done so but it seems unlikely given that if it wasn't him then the key would have been returned.

It also seems at least reasonable that if the key was in fact given to him and that if he was not certified to have it, that the owner now recognizes the liability of giving it to him and would be vehemently denying having done so....If giving it is now denied, and the receiving of it cannot be verified by Ben, well then the next and only credible witness to the exchange is the poster who was present and heard the owner state that the key was given to him. The only way to refute this is to pull the public record and or discuss the matter with the poster who heard the conversation in person.

Every day, man is making bigger and better fool-proof things, and every day, nature is making bigger and better fools. So far, I think nature is winning.​

-- Albert Einstein