General Vortex Incident Discussion

[Grover48]

I have a t shirt from the Viet Nam era that says, "If you die first, we're splitting up your gear!"

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Well... so what if we want the gear

... then visit my garage ... there's way more of it there than what I'll be wearing, it's easier to get to, and I won't be needing it anymore ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Divedoggie]

Well, 2 days since "new efforts" were going to be made following labor Day. Any news or updates that those who are informed might be willing to share?

 

[joystershell]

Well, 2 days since "new efforts" were going to be made following labor Day. Any news or updates that those who are informed might be willing to share?

Posted on the Cave Diver's Forum today;

Cave Diver's Forum - Cave Diving Resource

I am posting a brief statement to alert the cave community that the IUCRR is preparing a series of coordinated dives at Vortex Springs in an effort to locate the victim and document the IUCRR efforts. The cave remains padlocked by the Sheriff and is closed to public access The IUCRR will collect water samples and prepare a photographic and video record of its underwater activities.

The mission of the IUCRR is to support all Public Safety Agencies, in this case the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office, in the recovery of the victim reported to have entered Vortex Springs on 20 August 2010. We have maintained daily contact with the Sheriff and appreciate all they are doing to resolve this case and hopefully get the site back open. The IUCRR has met with the victims family and would like to extend our condolences and thank them for their efforts in gathering information that may assist us in our mission. We in the cave diving community enjoy their confidence and support and realize that in some instances internet threads have been inaccurate and speculative and less than kind to them. We also need to remind ourselves from time to time that the forums are open to everyone and discussions of training and personal techniques are no substitute for formal training and traditional one on one mentoring should you just want to improve your skills, or map, survey and explore.

IUCRR policy precludes discussion of the recent recovery efforts and its sole report will be prepared for the Holmes County Sheriff. Any disclosure other than that is not authorized and counterproductive. I would like to thank the initial IUCRR trained responders and their heroic efforts pushing the limits of a very difficult system. To date, the search was verified to have been to within ten feet of the terminal tie off of the 2003 survey and pressed to other areas of the 1972 survey. IUCRR search efforts has not revealed any trace of the victim or his route. Thank you. /Ken Hill

 

[Kevin Carlisle]

For those that can't see what she posted, its just a post informing that information gathered will not be revealed until the Sheriff decides what and when to reveal it. Looks like Harry just won't give up on the idea that he is in there.

 

[deepswim]

I wonder if S/R Team 1 knew someone had been down there after they staged a bottle and before they actually searched.
On another note, relating to questions on whether or not missing diver was carrying a primary light.
If you look at video #3 in the Youtube Missing Diver series, and then pause at frame :17/0:21, you can see the white helmeted diver with 2 head lamps mounted on the helmet. You can also see what looks like a primary clipped off on divers left side. The light appears to be turned on and randomly shining down.
Frame :18/21 possibly shows a backup light (blue color) clipped to belt.

OK, my name Nik known as DEEPSWIM.
31 July 2010 Friday night me and my buddy Jerald made a dive-plan to do tricks inside The Piano Room. Planed tricks; blow bubble-rings and walk on celling.

I dove from midle wooden dock. Jerald from aluminum "West-dock".
It was already about 8divers in a water with flash-ligths. I speeded to a cave-entry and lay-down on The Table-Rock. Jerald showedUP in a min, or two. After final OK, we entered a cave tonnel.
Nobody was inside The Piano Room. In a midle of Jerald's "tricks-perfomance" a cave-diver with 2side-tanks did swims into my camera view.

We got out of The Piano Room together (all 3). We went on last decmprs stage also together (concreed-platform -5meters)
After diving, I helped to load cave-diver's gear into his truck.
I made my personal concern to a cave-diver about coming to Piano Room without flash-light. He responded and showed 5 flash lights in a different gear position, and he says; he did not wanted to flash into my camera.

20 August 2010 Friday evening I come to Vortex for my regular swim. They (admin) says some cave-diver missing. Water was open. Some part of a land (clouse to a Dockery Estate) was wraped with yellow NO-cross tape.
I dove from North-dock (wooden-dock) and made a video.
ONLY after about an hour after dive I did meet Jerald. He repoted me;"Cave-diver lost with whom we dove July31"

21 August 2010 Saturday morning and all day water was cloused for everybody for diving (Except recoverys teams).
I went to Morrison and made some videos with diving-friends
www,youtube , com/user/deepswim

 

[sabbath999]

OK, my name Nik known as DEEPSWIM.
31 July 2010 Friday night me and my buddy Jerald made a dive-plan to do tricks inside The Piano Room. Planed tricks; blow bubble-rings and walk on celling.

Thanks for the information.

Having said that (and the following has nothing to do with your pictures or information about Ben) walking on the ceiling of a cave like was shown in your video is a very un-cool thing to do, and publishing pictures of it on the internet like it is a good thing really isn't very helpful either.

IMHO.

 

[diverdoug1]

Hey SAbbath999, I think deepswim is an obvious troll, please don't encourage him, and I would ask the moderator to "escort" him off this thread.

 

[Cave Diver]

Hey SAbbath999, I think deepswim is an obvious troll, please don't encourage him, and I would ask the moderator to "escort" him off this thread.

I don't think he is a troll, I'm fairly certain he is who he says he is.

Hopefully readers of this thread will find a way to gently point out the issues of diving in a cave without the proper training, and why it's considered poor form to do such "tricks" like walking on the ceiling or laying on the bottom.

 

[mike_s]

Hey SAbbath999, I think deepswim is an obvious troll, please don't encourage him, and I would ask the moderator to "escort" him off this thread.

I don't think he's trolling.... I recognize him from his picture on his Youtube site. I've met him before at the local springs down there. (Morrison Springs). (Just met him, didn't dive with him or anything).

Patti also verified him earlier in this thread (before he posted).

while walking on a cave ceiling isn't the best thing for the cave, he might have something add to this thread as he was one of the last people to 'dive' with him.