FLA Silver Glen Springs freediver

[Johnoly]

Altamonte Man drowns in Marion County springs | News - Home

MARION COUNTY, Fla. - Marion County deputies said they found the body of a man who went missing in Silver Glen Springs on Friday.
On Friday, the Marion County Sheriff's Office responded to Silver Glen Springs Campground in reference to a missing swimmer, 29-year-old Jason Yeh, deputies said.
Yeh and his girlfriend, Erica Cannon, had arrived at the springs early that afternoon
and Yeh was boasting about his ability to free dive down to 80 feet with just a snorkel, mask and fins, deputies said.


Deputies said Cannon stated that Yeh seemed to be interested in going into the cavern system of Silver Glen Springs.
Deputies said the last time she saw Yeh was in the "main boil" of the springs at approximately 3:00 p.m.
After a couple of hours had passed without seeing Yeh, Cannon called 911, deputies said.


Deputies said an exhaustive search began Friday night and included the U.S.
Forestry Service along with the Fish and Wildlife Commission.
Deputies said the Dive Team of the Marion County Sheriff's Office started it's search again Saturday and Yeh's body was recovered within the cavern of the spring.

 

[Superlyte27]

That sucks...

 

[mselenaous]

Website says:

[TABLE="width: 519"]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TH="bgcolor: #ECECC6"]Restrictions:[/TH]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEEEEE"]No diving or SCUBA diving permitted. Boats must stay out of swimming area.[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/ocala/recarea/?recid=37199

Sad.

 

[Johnoly]

I've been there many times years ago when it used to be a big party area but it's been tamed down. I don't think there was ever was any lifeguards but the rangers would make rounds if there was an issue. Depending on the time of year, the flow near the one side wall was strong, but you could tuck around it to get out of it. The roped off swim zone is only a couple of hundred ft wide and long, it's not big at all. You can search google>images for Silver Glen to see the zone and where the boats used to park.

Just like scuba/cave/cavern, there are courses for freediving. One of the 1st things taught is you don't dive unless you have an inwater spotter right next to you incase of SWB or any other issue. Training is critical for anything in or on the water. Godspeed.

 

[vincent54]

Not that it would change the outcome, but for the girlfriend to wait 2 hours before calling 911 makes me wonder if her brain was turned on. Unless he is a Sperm Whale, two hours is a long time to hold your breathe. Cheers

 

[bluejaykaren]

I had heard that he carried a light with him and was found something like 25 yards into the cavern. I don't know if that is true but I know people who where anchored there at the time he was found. The entrance is small but it opens into a huge cavern. I have snorkeled there and have looked into the opening and the flow is very strong going in
. It goes sideways so I would think that you wouldn't be able to see light from the entrance once you went very far into the cavern. It is sad for his family.

 

[RayKay]

Not that it would change the outcome, but for the girlfriend to wait 2 hours before calling 911 makes me wonder if her brain was turned on. Unless he is a Sperm Whale, two hours is a long time to hold your breathe. Cheers

Yes, that certainly seemed odd to me too. Hell, it would be ridiculous to wait 2 hours even if the guy had full scuba kit on.

Sounds like there was a clear violation of the site restrictions (no diving, no SCUBA). That would not be the cause of death, obviously, but it does raise issues of what safety measures were in place on his part (seems like none if he was diving alone, it is my understanding even free divers dive in buddy systems of some sort).

Wonder who reported he was "boasting"? His girlfriend? Was this a case of trying to impress?