Vortex revisited

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.... But my intententions were never to "play down" the abiliities of the divers who looked for Ben. If I had it to over again I would use different words. All of the divers are brave and fearless. My apologies to everyone I have offended. It is just very difficult emotionally trying to grasp the loss of two sons in two years. All we have ever wanted is to bring Ben's remains home and bury with Paul. It has been hard not having a closure. We know in our hearts Ben and Paul are in Heaven together. Our thanks to everyone who participated in Ben's searches. We are not upset with anyone. We just miss our boys.

Shelby. Thank you for posting this, I think it will go towards mending some fences and hurt feelings.

The reward will still be a sticking point with the dive community though. Would your family be open to placing conditions on the reward that would act to discourage unqualified divers from entering the cave in search for Ben? I think everyone's biggest worry at this point is compounding the tragedy by adding another casualty.
 
Kevin, you and the others who keep on and on that the original cadavar dogs were not certified is not true!!!!!! You should not make statements when you do not know the facts. The cadavar dogs from Tallahassee, owned by Kelly Walker and Mary Starnes WERE certified! And guess what: Roscoe showed interest and swam out to the springs boil----jumping in the water, which is extremely rare! Mary said Roscoe never responded so strongly! As a matter-of-fact, there is a lot of information not privy to the public. I would like to clear up a lot of statements made by divers that have come down hard on my family, perhaps someday I will. But my intententions were never to "play down" the abiliities of the divers who looked for Ben. If I had it to over again I would use different words. All of the divers are brave and fearless. My apologies to everyone I have offended. It is just very difficult emotionally trying to grasp the loss of two sons in two years. All we have ever wanted is to bring Ben's remains home and bury with Paul. It has been hard not having a closure. We know in our hearts Ben and Paul are in Heaven together. Our thanks to everyone who participated in Ben's searches. We are not upset with anyone. We just miss our boys.

you're going to get someone hurt. for what? the longshot chance that they can recover this body for you? what good will that do anyone if he's in heaven as you say.

you think he cares about his body and wants you putting peoples lives at risk to recover it?
 
Would your family be open to placing conditions on the reward that would act to discourage unqualified divers from entering the cave in search for Ben?

Sounds like a great idea to me. Divers who are interested in the reward but are unqualified to make the dives will end up being the subjects of future recovery efforts and a source of distress to their families. I hope that shelby mcdaniel strongly considers your suggestion and formulates reasonable conditions in consultation with qualified divers.
 
Yes, we never intended to put anyone in harm's way. We now know only qualified/cave certified trained divers only should attempt such a dive. There probably wil not be a need to re-post the reward anyway. We were mainly hoping that maybe someone kenw something about what actually happened to Ben would come forward leading to his remains. Cave diving needs to be respected for what it is, and there are but a few qualified people who are actually trained to do this sport. It is a fun sport, like rock and ice climbing that our son Paul did. But, a person should be officially certified to participate. Cave divers are very special and most are willing to help look for someonne who is in trouble. We will be forever endebted to everyone who had a hand in looking for our son. May this never happen to any one ever again, and may this be a reminder that safety measures be implemented and folllowed up by owners of all diving locations.
 
Mr. McDaniel I do not wish to argue over any of this with you any more. Since day one and not too long ago you still bashed the dive community but I hope both sides will let all things go. I would go back tomorrow if we had a good reason too. I wish vortex was as vast as other caves in the area so there was more places to look but unfortunately its not. I sincerely hope you and your family find the peace you deserve and one day you get to bring Ben home from whatever tragedy happened to him.

If you ever want clarification on anything I have said feel free to send me a message. I will gladly answer parity anything you need.
 


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IN the news today


Local dive expert to be featured on 'Disappeared ' | JCFLORIDAN


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Local dive expert to be featured on 'Disappeared '


Show airs on March 19 on the Investigation Discovery channel

By: Deborah Buckhalter | Jackson County Floridan
Published: March 15, 2012

A local cave -diving expert will be featured in an upcoming episode of “Disappeared,” a program on the Investigation Discovery channel.
The show will air at 8 p.m. central time on March 19. It explores the disappearance of another diver at Vortex Spring in nearby Ponce De Leon.


Marianna resident Edd Sorenson, owner of the Cave Adventurers dive shop on Blue Springs, is the primary diver in this region for International Rescue and Recovery Team. He is a recognized expert around the world, and has explored deeper into many caves than others have previously dared, opening the path for others to follow.


After scuba diver Ben McDaniel was reported missing while apparently on a cave dive at Vortex Spring in August 2010, Sorenson was called in to search for him, along with many more of the best divers in the world. The mysterious disappearance has led to speculation that McDaniel may not be in the cave at all.


The “Disappeared” team interviewed Sorenson for three hours in preparation for the episode, and a portion of those talks will be included in the show.


Sorenson said he encountered McDaniel only once before that infamous dive, when he came into the shop to buy some gear on a different excursion. McDaniel took his open water side mount dive course from another instructor, Sorenson said, but had no cave training whatsoever as far as Sorenson knows. “He should never have been in a cave,” Sorenson said .


He said he has come to the conclusion that McDaniel isn’t in Vortex Spring.


“They asked me what I thought; I don’t think he’s in there,” Sorenson said. “I went six hours in a one-hour cave, and checked all the nooks and crannies. There’s no sign in the back of the cave, where he was supposed to be working, that he was ever there. In the back of the cave, the roof is covered by an orangey-brown bacterial growth, and if you even brush against it slightly, you’ll knock that off and you’ll have stark white limestone showing. I didn’t find that .


“ There are no gouge marks found (where they would have had been if he’d moved through a certain tight spot). Those are the kinds of things I told them, and I told the family that there’s no indication he was in there.”


Investigators have questioned the nature of McDaniel’s disappearance, and the episode explores some of those issues.
Sorenson didn’t speculate on what he thinks might be the truth behind McDaniel’s vanishing, but the episode features others who shed more information on the story. Several of McDaniel’s family members and Capt. Harry Hamilton of the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office are among those interviewed.


In promoting the episode, Investigation Discovery representative Jordyn Linsk sent a press release with the following summary:
“After dealing with a failed business, a broken marriage, and the death of his brother, Ben McDaniel decides to start anew, so he moves from Tennessee to his parents’ condo in Florida. An avid scuba diver, McDaniel jumps at the opportunity to escape when he learns of a dive at a nearby spring. Vortex Spring has an underwater cave that is said to be very exciting, but also dangerous, and McDaniel prepares extensively. He goes on the dive August 18, 2010, and while witnesses see him enter the cave, no on ever sees him return. The police conduct extensive searches, but ultimately, police, rescue divers and McDaniel’s family are baffled, left questioning the nature of his disappearance.”
 
IN the news today


Local dive expert to be featured on 'Disappeared ' | JCFLORIDAN


Local dive expert to be featured on 'Disappeared '


Show airs on March 19 on the Investigation Discovery channel

”

Now there is a first for South Africa! The show aired here about an hour ago. I have been reading through this thread since. Show is balanced and worth a watch. I will not ruin it for anyone, other than to say that for me the best part was seeing a few seconds of Jill's video. Looks like a great cave, but it gets tight with plenty of silt.
 
Looks like a great cave, but it gets tight with plenty of silt.

If you are cave certified the vortex spring cave is worthless. There are much nicer caves to dive. Just my opinion. Also, If you are not cave certified, you should not be going into this cave or any other.

David
 
If you are cave certified the vortex spring cave is worthless. There are much nicer caves to dive. Just my opinion. Also, If you are not cave certified, you should not be going into this cave or any other.

David

Interesting, never dived it but tempted after the show (and before I cause a sh!t storm yes I have a card that says cave). Does Vortex have flow? Difficult to judge from the video, my impression from other web sites is Ginnie type flow. Is it suited for a newer cave diver?
 
http://cavediveflorida.com/Rum_House.htm

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