Cave Diving Gone Wrong into Vortex Springs - The Disappearance of Ben McDaniel

Cave Exploring Disasters, Cave Disasters, Vortex Spring

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What happens when a cave diver disappears without a trace? In today's video, we will cover one of the most disturbing cave diving stories we have covered on this channel so far. Watch till the end as we unravel the mystery behind the disappearance and the huge efforts of 16 divers to search for the missing diver.

The Vortex Spring is a cold, freshwater spring with a water flow of more than 28 million US gallons (110,000 m3) per day. It is located north of Ponce de Leon, Florida. The spring has a cave that connects to the Florida aquifer. It has a constant water temperature of about 68 °F (20 °C). Its runoff flows directly into Otter Creek, which is not far from Vortex Spring. The spring has several species of fish in it, including large carp and freshwater eels. The cave system in Vortex Spring is about 1,642 ft (500 m) long.

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[caveexploringdisasters]

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[Tsumami__]

I live not very far from Vortex and I had always believed he had gotten lost in the cave and just wasn’t found. After learning more about cave diving and in particular and listening to Edd Sorensen explain his search for Ben, I do not think he is in there. There’s no way he is. Sorensen would have found him, he went as far back as you possibly can go in there WITH a sidemount and couldn’t find him. Nothing. That man isn’t in there. Something else happened. I doubt the employees or owner of the site are involved, either. Tbh, it is very sad but I think he may have been struggling with depression and took a last dive and decided to end it out there in the backcountry around the cave site.

[loulou]

I think he’s in there. I think he’s squeezed into somewhere that no one can fit through. I think he probably took off his air tanks to get through an unbelievably small gap but then found he couldn’t get back out again. He’s probably curled up right at the very back. A lot of the experts searching for him commented there were some squeezes that they knew if they had gone through them they probably wouldn’t have been able to get back out again.

[valerie.mccaffrey]

If Edd can't find you, you're probably not in the cave

[flexibleatheist]

The one time no one stayed around to track his bubbles/movements, this bizarre disappearance occurs.

[charliekezza]

Here is a different theory for you. He did die in the cave but the owners/employees who let him down there didn't want to get in trouble for letting him in there so before calling anyone they took his body and dumped it somewhere else

[blackhawkorg]

Cave in or a rock dislodged and sealed him in a side passage... and he's still there.
Rest in Peace

[ashpit]

I love your channel, but would it be possible to show some maps of these caves?

[curtisblashill]

theres a video of an untouched chamber in the vortex thats post ben mcdaniel and ben's map had areas noted that nobody ever heard of. if he's in the cave, he got buried in an area that nobody knows of and is blocked off. i honestly doubt a guy his size could have made it past the 5th restriction and edd sorenson would have found disturbed ground if he somehow managed to squeeze through. as far as removing the body, i doubt it. ben wasnt a small guy man power and time are definitly required to pull that off, and to do it without leaving any signs of dragging a body around through the caves seems unlikely. i think ben never made it into the water the tanks were placed only at the entrance and none were trimix. i know he was a novice cave diver but that says he knew nothing about diving, unless those were staged to make people think he's in a cave that if no body was found no one would really question it. i know theres no real evidence to support that theory but theres also no real evidence that ben was down there just some tanks that were placed at an odd location for being the only tanks found and way more than what he would need from that point on even if he made it to the tanks. if he was aiming for the 5th restriction he wouldve woefully misjudged his oxygen supply to an unrealistic level, he wouldnt have even been in the vicinity of being close to making it back to the tanks before he ran out. then you factor in the owners history and bens drug history. one guy with money problems and drug use frequently being around a guy with money and a shadey history. that alone deserves a look into especiall since the last guy to claim to see ben is on the shadey rich guys payroll. that being said, they should still make a drone that can get past the 5th restriction and just see whats in there.

[wompppwompwomppp]

Ben was exhibiting a lot of signs of suicide that wasnt included in this video. His family also were incredibly disrespectful by saying they were going to give a monetary prize to whoever was "brave enough" after all these brave divers were looking for him and risking their lives. That also incentivizes people who are not skilled enough for that dive. Selfish to put other lives in danger just to find a body.

[scottieeasley]

Very reckless of his parents to ask so many people to risk their lives.

[Man_fay_the_Bru]

I feel bad for anyone that dies in a cave, it’s just an eery ending

[doclewis]

It sounds like there may have been a cave in and he's still there in an area that got completely sealed off thus the tests wouldn't show anything. Or...he walked away from his life though it doesn't sound like it. I suppose you could check dive shops in Carribean countries to see if he owns any of them but it seems more likely that he got trapped in the cave. It's never a good idea to go caving alone and the fact that he wasn't a certified cave diver means he was trying something beyond his personal & professional knowledge & skills.

[Snarf_Le_Wombat]

After the first time I went to Vortex Springs I learned and researched this case. Then the next time I was wondering if I was swimming in his marinade 😬🤢🤬

[donnamorgan]

It was a massive search by the best of the recovery divers in the World.
Heartbreaking the efforts to find Ben weren’t successful.

[AL_theDrifter]

IMO he has a new name in an unknown little town sonewhere.

[kimberlywebster]

Interesting series of events. This is a little off-topic, but: What’s the background music?

[kristimcgowandarkoscellard]

I believe Ben was murdered. It just doesn’t seem plausible that his body disappeared! How can that be? I don’t think he died in that cave, I think he died on land and someone disposed of his body elsewhere.
Cheers

[AppalachianHistoryDetectives]

He faked his own death and has assumed another life.

[helene]

Could he have been taken by a croc or bull shark maybe. Years ago on a cave dive we seen sharks we left real quick🤬🤬🤬