The ex-employee managed to escape into the woods but was left so shaken that he moved his family out of town and swore he would never return. The former owner, Lowell Kelly, was charged with driving an ex-employee into the woods and accused him of stealing money before beating him viciously with a baseball bat. While investigating, she found some unsavoury characters associated with the Vortex Spring. The McDaniel family hired Lynn-Marie Carty, a private investigator. Some theorise that something more sinister happened to Ben: that he was murdered. There were no signs of activity from aquatic scavengers like one would assume if there were a deceased body down there. There were no marks on the limestone where a diver’s helmet or tank would have scraped the cave ceiling. One of the experienced divers who searched for Ben, Kevin Carlisle, explained: “We may never know the truth of where he is, but we do know where he isn’t and that is because of a lot of talented and qualified divers.” As they searched the tiny passages, there was no sign of human activity. Many divers are adamant that Ben isn’t inside the cave. Other than the two tanks, there was no sign of Ben: no dive mask, no fins, no wet suit, no body. It was concluded that these tanks had been left behind by Ben. While divers couldn’t find Ben, they did find two decompression tanks which are left by divers as they ascend to avoid decompression sickness. He wriggled through minuscule crevices that Ben (who stood at 6’1”) would have been much too large to fit through but he was determined to search every single inch of the cave system.
Ed Sorenson, an experienced diver who owns a dive shop, searched the spring scrupulously. They didn’t want to risk their lives, understandably. While police had already searched the spring, there were certain passages that they refused to search because it was much too dangerous and they weren’t experienced enough. Over the forthcoming years, experienced divers continued to search the spring for any sign of Ben at the request of his parents who had offered a reward. Eduardo later passed a lie detector test. This was the last time Ben was ever seen. As he watched Ben attempt to open the gate, he retrieved his own key and opened the gate, allowing Ben to swim though.
He had come to know Ben in the past couple of months. Eduardo Taran, however, was an experienced diver as well as an employee at Vortex Spring. Ben wasn’t an experienced diver thus he had no key. THERE’S NOTHING WORTH DYING FOR” it ominously reads.īen reached the locked gate at the entrance to the cave only experienced divers were given a key to the lock. It contains a warning to divers of the consequences of diving past that point: “PREVENT YOUR DEATH. At the entrance to the cave is a sign depicting the Grim Reaper. He was descending down towards the cave which starts 300 feet from the cavern. Witnesses came forward to say they had encountered Ben on the evening of the 18th of August. Cadaver dogs picked up a scent along the bank of the spring as well as one in the water but when county health departments sampled the water, they found no indication of a spike in bacteria consistent with decomposition. Armed with flashlights, they searched the spring. Police assigned divers searched for Ben for days. There was no sign of a struggle at his car and his belongings were untouched, including $1,000 in cash. The spring was closed and crime scene tape was tied from tree to tree while his disappearance was investigated. Two days later, it was noticed that Ben’s car was still in the parking lot where it had remained for the past two days.
What happened next is enshrined in mystery. He was wearing a dive mask, fins, and a wet suit. In the 1990s, 13 divers perished in the cave.Īs the sun faded on the 19 th of August, 2010, Ben walked down the narrow dock and slipped in the clear, warm, water of Vortex Spring. The spring consists of a 200ft basin which leads to an underground cave system. While Ben frequented the spring, he never received sufficient training and wasn’t considered an experienced diver. The spring remains a pleasant 68 degrees year round and boasts of thousands of tourists who flock to the spring for camping, swimming and of course, diving. Vortex Spring is a popular vacation destination hours away from the hustle and bustle of Orlando and Disney World. 1 This location was perfect for Ben, who was an avid diver. Things hadn’t been going so well for Ben recently and he needed some time to clear his head. What happened in between those two events has completely turned their life upside down.īen had recently moved into his parents Santa Rosa, Florida, beach condo to escape a failed business and a broken marriage. Ben McDaniel’s parents believe two things: That their 30-year-old son dived into an underwater cave in Vortex Spring in Florida on the 18th of August, 2010.
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