Ben's Vortex

[57Writer]

any plans on a downloadable copy any time soon?

Ben's Vortex is now available at Amazon Video on Demand. You can rent or purchase the stream here: Link

 

[ktomlinson]

Ben's Vortex is now available at Amazon Video on Demand. You can rent or purchase the stream here: Link

Awesome!

 

[JamesK]

Ben's Vortex is now available at Amazon Video on Demand. You can rent or purchase the stream here: Link

Yeah, I actually rented it a couple weeks ago to show a friend of mine off of Amazon. Thanks.

BTW, I just purchased We Are Water at Cave Country Dive Shop. It was very well done. My wife watched it, and was amazed. She said "Kids in school need to see this".

 

[Hetland]

The cave diving community is tight and likes to talk, many feel he is still in there past the fifth restriction in an area of the system that is just too dangerous to fully search. I hear that more than the other theories, but that is just what they are - theories.

Apparently, there are TWO cave diving communities, because I've never heard that from anyone who has ever personally dove that system. Good luck with your cave cheating. Hopefully you won't end up inconveniencing a recovery team.

 

[Akroedge540]

The video was neat, I enjoyed the cave diving scenes the most. After all the information was presented, I personally don't believe he's in there. I've only been to the gate and back (intro cave), so my experience on the full system is nil. However, I do believe if edd says he's been back as far as he can go, enough has been done as far as searching the cave. Ben may have been really pushing the limits, and made it a good ways back, but to vanish without a trace and his body still be in the cave? No. Sorry, I just don't believe it's possible. His gear setup Wasn't the greatest, but the condition of his deco bottles is Indicative to me more along the lines of foul play. IF Ben had the knowledge,skills, and the enormous amount of luck that would be required of a dive like that, his deco bottles would be in pristine shape. Not the condition they were in. He would have known that he is fully dependent on those bottles for survival, he couldn't fully deco on backgas if at all. He only had one option or to risk a very bad case of dcs that could have killed him before anyone could do anything to help.

Maybe ben did get way back in the cave,and died back there. Maybe his body was removed and disposed of? Or maybe he skipped town?

To me given the information I read, and what I saw on the video those explanations are much more plausible than him being in there.

 

[diverdoug1]

I just watched the video on Amazon. Great underwater video. It gave my wife a feeling for what cave diving is like much better than I can describe to her. The video left me feeling more than ever that Ben is not in the cave. We know now that the shovel did not belong to Ben, as well as the fact that there was a HUGE cover-up with the cause of death of Paul, but the family went on to form a foundation based on a lie. Although I certainly sympathize with the loss the family went through in losing their son to a drug overdose (not a stroke), it does display a propensity towards a very dense form of denial. The video shows this denial and subterfuge had permeated into the way Ben led his life. He had more than his fair share of skeletons in the closet, and played the Con well. I would not be surprised to hear that he has been found living in some condo in another country, once again trying to find himself. After the video, my wife immediately asked if the parents own a condo in Brazil. I recommend this video to anyone who dives, or anyone who likes mysteries. It was also neat to see Kevin and Pete in the video!

 

[Avonthediver]

Ok so have they found him yet?

 

[diverdoug1]

nope, they have not

 

[57Writer]

I just watched the video on Amazon. Great underwater video. It gave my wife a feeling for what cave diving is like much better than I can describe to her. The video left me feeling more than ever that Ben is not in the cave. We know now that the shovel did not belong to Ben, as well as the fact that there was a HUGE cover-up with the cause of death of Paul, but the family went on to form a foundation based on a lie. Although I certainly sympathize with the loss the family went through in losing their son to a drug overdose (not a stroke), it does display a propensity towards a very dense form of denial. The video shows this denial and subterfuge had permeated into the way Ben led his life. He had more than his fair share of skeletons in the closet, and played the Con well. I would not be surprised to hear that he has been found living in some condo in another country, once again trying to find himself. After the video, my wife immediately asked if the parents own a condo in Brazil. I recommend this video to anyone who dives, or anyone who likes mysteries. It was also neat to see Kevin and Pete in the video!

Thanks, Doug. This is a very well thought out review - and accurate. And yes, Kevin Carlisle and Pete NetDoc were valuable resources in the production of this story. The only update lately is that there are two divers who are making a serious effort to re-map Vortex Spring. Sorry, I don't know their names, but they recently spoke to Jill Heinerth at a dive site and reported that they have found zero evidence of Ben. This mystery continues to confound almost everyone involved.

 

[SamKelly1965]

I have watched both Ben's Vortex and the Disappeared Episode. What confuses me completely is that Ben's obituary and his brother Paul's obituary indicate that there were four brothers, the fourth being Brad. But both documentaries and all news articles not only don't mention Brad, but they also indicate there were only three brothers and only show pictures of three brothers. Yet in the obits, he is named Brad McDaniel with wife Sarah. So I can only conclude he is Shelby's son from a previous relationship, but if so, I don't understand why he wasn't mentioned and why it is indicated that Ben was the oldest?