Accident at Vortex Springs 8-20-10

[Cave Diver]

I was just told that a diver is overdue at Vortex. Anyone know any details on this?


Edited to add:

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Recap of known facts:

• Male diver reported missing on Friday at Vortex
• Possibly missing as early as Wed.
• Diver was a Dive Con/DM working towards Open Water SCUBA Instructor (OWSI).
• Diver was not certified in cave or decompression diving
• Got beyond the gate without a key
• Had deco bottle inside the cave
• Evidence of the divers passage has been found
• Body has not been recovered as of 8-24
• FBI has been called in to assist. Not sure in what capacity.
• Dogs have been requested to check the surrounding area.

 

[wjefferis]

I was there just the accident scene started. Here is what I know:

I arrived at about 08:30 this morning (8-20-10) at Vortex to play around in my sidemount gear. I had heard that there is new management at Vortex which was confirmed when I entered the dive shop to check-in. When I walked in I over heard the people behind the counter say that they couldn’t find the key to the gate for the cave. They didn’t seem all panicked so I just figured they couldn’t figure out where they put it. I was checked-in and I brought my tanks to the water and noticed that there was one diver in already. I began getting my gear together when the solo diver I noticed when I put my tanks in the water got out. We began talking as I was gearing up. Just then an ambulance, sheriff’s deputy and other emergency support personnel arrived at Vortex. I just figured that they were going to be doing some training until I saw the sheriff’s deputy start walking over to us. The deputy asked us if we had seen anybody in the water. The solo diver (who was only OW certified) told the deputy that he dove down to the gate (which is a cave dive). He stated that he noticed a bottle just past the Grim Reaper sign next to the white pipe. The solo diver also stated that he noticed that the gate was open. I asked the solo diver if the bottle was slim and fairly tall and he said yes, so I figure it was a 40 cu ft deco bottle (total guess and unconfirmed). Just then the new owner operator lady started talking and she stated the key to the gate was checked out on Wednesday by a male and it was never returned (accident was on Friday). The water was considered a crime scene at that point and we were obviously told we could not dive. I saw Eduardo (sp?) who is the resident dive guy at Vortex suiting up to attempt to make a recovery as I was leaving. From there I went over to Cave Adventurers to check a few things out. By the time I got there they were calling for Edd (who was out of the country diving) to see if he could help out in the recovery. My understanding is that the backmount diver(s) could tell where he was (I am guessing by following his line?). Unfortunately, they couldn’t enter the area he was at in backmount, so they were looking for skilled sidemount divers who could get to the area the diver was in. When I left Cave Adventurers they were trying to give them some names of qualified sidemount divers who could help in the recovery.

At the time of me writing this I am unaware if they have recovered the diver yet or not.

It was a pretty humbling day today. I will be more than happy to field any other questions if I am able to answer them.

 

[Cave Diver]

I've heard that at this point it's unconfirmed whether the diver is actually in the cave or not. There has been some speculation that he may have left the site without notifying anyone. Any insight?

 

[wjefferis]

The solo diver stated he saw a deco bottle in the water (doesn't really confirm anything) along with the gate being opened. When I went to Cave Adventurers they were asking for a sidemount diver because they thought they knew where he was at (i'm guessing by following his line), but couldn't get to him in backmount.

 

[OldNSalty]

Shouldn't they know 'who' check out the key by name and if there is a vehicle in the lot registered to said name?

I don't dive in caves so I don't know how this key checking out thing works but I would assume you would have to identify yourself with a card to get the key.

I hope it is just a case of someone forgetting to turn in his stuff.

edit-just re-read. While I could see forgetting to turn in the key I guess it would not be likely to forget your deco bottle so....

 

[wjefferis]

I am not sure what the protocol at Vortex is to get the gate key. This would have to be answered by some of the full cave divers on the board.

Vortex is also a campsite, so I don't know if he was camping there as well. This would allow the vehicle to be at a campsite and nobody would think the wiser. However, I didn't count vehicles on my way out to see if there was an "extra" vehicle parked by where the divers usually park or not.

 

[wjefferis]

This is from the News Herald: Possible drowning at Vortex Springs | springs, hamilton, sheriff - Breaking News - The News Herald

Possible drowning at Vortex Springs

Comments 0



August 20, 2010 02:19:00 PM

Florida Freedom Newspapers

Holmes County Sheriff's Office has reported a possible drowning at Vortex Springs north of Ponce de Leon on Hwy. 81. Lt. Harry Hamilton of the Holmes County Sheriff's Office said the unidentified diver is possibly missing in the underwater caves at the springs, a popular diving location. Hamilton said a team of expert cave divers is being prepared to continue the search.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

 

[alohagal]

Tough situation.

 

[cmufieldhockey8]

damn, my thoughts go to the diver and his or her family as well as the recovery team.

 

[Kevin Carlisle]

To get the key to the gate you must leave your full cave card. That was implemented under the advice of Jeff Loflin. And a great implementation at that.