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<div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> <div id="mw-indicator-coordinates" class="mw-indicator"><div class="mw-parser-output"><span id="coordinates"><a href="/wiki/Geographic_coordinate_system" title="Geographic coordinate system">Coordinates</a>: <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1156832818">.mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct,.mw-parser-output .geo-inline-hidden{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}</style><span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><a class="external text" href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Disappearance_of_Ben_McDaniel&params=30.77149_N_85.94812_W_"><span class="geo-nondefault"><span class="geo-dms" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location"><span class="latitude">30°46′17″N</span> <span class="longitude">85°56′53″W</span></span></span><span class="geo-multi-punct"> / </span><span class="geo-default"><span class="geo-dec" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location">30.77149°N 85.94812°W</span><span style="display:none"> / <span class="geo">30.77149; -85.94812</span></span></span></a></span></span></div></div> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">This article is about the scuba diver who went missing in 2010. For the college football player and coach, see <a href="/wiki/Ben_McDaniels" title="Ben McDaniels">Ben McDaniels</a>.</div> <div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none"> Scuba diver who disappeared during or after a cave dive </div> <p><span class="geo-inline-hidden noexcerpt"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1156832818">.mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct,.mw-parser-output .geo-inline-hidden{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}</style><span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><a class="external text" href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Disappearance_of_Ben_McDaniel&params=30.77149_N_85.94812_W_"><span class="geo-nondefault"><span class="geo-dms" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location"><span class="latitude">30°46′17″N</span> <span class="longitude">85°56′53″W</span></span></span><span class="geo-multi-punct"> / </span><span class="geo-default"><span class="geo-dec" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location">30.77149°N 85.94812°W</span><span style="display:none"> / <span class="geo">30.77149; -85.94812</span></span></span></a></span></span> </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1257001546">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme)>div:not(.notheme)[style]{background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme) div:not(.notheme){background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media(min-width:640px){body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table{display:table!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>caption{display:table-caption!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>tbody{display:table-row-group}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table tr{display:table-row!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table th,body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table td{padding-left:inherit;padding-right:inherit}}</style><table class="infobox biography vcard"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above" style="font-size:125%;"><div class="fn">Benjamin J. McDaniel</div></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="/wiki/File:Ben_McDaniel.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="A smiling man with short brownish hair and ruddy cheeks smiling and wearing a dark blue wetsuit" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/32/Ben_McDaniel.jpg" decoding="async" width="163" height="200" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="163" data-file-height="200" /></a></span><div class="infobox-caption">McDaniel in diving gear</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Born</th><td class="infobox-data"><span style="display:none">(<span class="bday">1980-04-15</span>)</span>April 15, 1980<br /><div style="display:inline" class="birthplace"><a href="/wiki/Memphis,_Tennessee" title="Memphis, Tennessee">Memphis, Tennessee</a>, US</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Disappeared</th><td class="infobox-data">August 18, 2010 (aged 30)<br /><a href="/wiki/Vortex_Spring" title="Vortex Spring">Vortex Spring</a>, Florida</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Status</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Missing_person" title="Missing person">Missing</a> for 14 years, 3 months and 4 days</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Known for</th><td class="infobox-data">Disappearance while <a href="/wiki/Scuba_diving" title="Scuba diving">scuba diving</a></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>On August 20, 2010, <b>Ben McDaniel</b> (born April 15, 1980), of <a href="/wiki/Memphis,_Tennessee" title="Memphis, Tennessee">Memphis, Tennessee</a>, United States, was reported missing after employees in the dive shop at <a href="/wiki/Vortex_Spring" title="Vortex Spring">Vortex Spring</a>, north of <a href="/wiki/Ponce_de_Leon,_Florida" title="Ponce de Leon, Florida">Ponce de Leon, Florida</a>, noticed that his pickup truck had remained in the shop's parking lot for the previous two days. McDaniel, who had been <a href="/wiki/Scuba_diving" title="Scuba diving">diving</a> regularly at the spring while living in his parents' nearby beach house, had last been seen by two of those employees on the evening of August 18, on a dive entering a cave 58 feet (18 m) below the water's surface. While he was initially believed to have drowned on that dive, and his parents still strongly believe his body is in an inaccessible reach of the extensive cave system, no trace of him has ever been found.<sup id="cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Commercial_Appeal_story-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tampa_Bay_Times_story-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The state of Florida issued his family a <a href="/wiki/Death_certificate" title="Death certificate">death certificate</a> in 2013.<sup id="cite_ref-Death_certificate_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Death_certificate-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>McDaniel had been living at his parents' beach house on the <a href="/wiki/Emerald_Coast" title="Emerald Coast">Emerald Coast</a> during a <a href="/wiki/Sabbatical" title="Sabbatical">sabbatical</a> in the wake of a divorce, a business failure, and the death of his younger brother two years earlier. An avid diver since his teens, he had been a regular at the spring, where he had apparently been covertly <a href="/wiki/Cave_diving" title="Cave diving">exploring the cave</a> despite lacking the required certification. Lengthy searches have only located some anomalously placed and filled <a href="/wiki/Decompression_(diving)" title="Decompression (diving)">decompression</a> tanks; many of the divers who took part in those searches believe that if McDaniel is indeed dead, his body is not in the cave as he was too large to enter its narrower passages. The McDaniels devoted their family's extensive financial resources to the search, at one point guaranteeing the replacement cost of a <a href="/wiki/Remotely_operated_underwater_vehicle" title="Remotely operated underwater vehicle">remotely operated underwater vehicle</a> (ROV).<sup id="cite_ref-ROV_Comment_by_Shelby_McDaniel_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ROV_Comment_by_Shelby_McDaniel-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A reward they offered was rescinded in 2012 after the death of another diver who may have been trying to collect it, vindicating the criticism of the divers who had warned of that possibility and resented the McDaniels' insinuation that those who had searched for their son at great personal risk had not been "brave" enough.<sup id="cite_ref-CA_reward_rescission_story_5-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-CA_reward_rescission_story-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Although the McDaniels continue to believe that his body is in an area of the cave beyond the reach of current search capabilities, they have also entertained the possibility that his death was not an accident but the result of foul play. A <a href="/wiki/Private_investigator" title="Private investigator">private investigator</a> they hired believes that his body may have been removed before any authorities were contacted, or that he may even have been murdered on land and the narrative of his disappearance fabricated as a cover story. </p><p>A segment of <a href="/wiki/Investigation_Discovery" title="Investigation Discovery">Investigation Discovery</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/Disappeared_(TV_series)" class="mw-redirect" title="Disappeared (TV series)">Disappeared</a></i> was devoted to the case, as well as <i>Ben's Vortex</i>, a documentary co-directed by diver <a href="/wiki/Jill_Heinerth" title="Jill Heinerth">Jill Heinerth</a>. In addition to the accident and murder theories, the documentary also considers the possibility that McDaniel staged the disappearance to escape a troubled recent past that included a divorce and financial setbacks. The McDaniels have vehemently rejected that theory, pointing to the dog and girlfriend he left behind as well as doubting that he would have knowingly subjected them to that level of grief after seeing how his brother's death had affected them. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Background">Background</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Disappearance_of_Ben_McDaniel&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Background"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In the late 2000s, Ben McDaniel was going through a difficult period in his life. The oldest of three sons born to Shelby and Patty McDaniel, a wealthy couple who lived in <a href="/wiki/Collierville,_Tennessee" title="Collierville, Tennessee">Collierville, Tennessee</a>, outside <a href="/wiki/Memphis,_Tennessee" title="Memphis, Tennessee">Memphis</a>, he had returned to live with his parents after his marriage ended in divorce and his construction business failed, the latter leaving him with tax debts of almost $50,000 to the <a href="/wiki/Internal_Revenue_Service" title="Internal Revenue Service">Internal Revenue Service</a> and the state of Tennessee. </p><p>He was also still grieving for his younger brother Paul, a frequent <a href="/wiki/Rock_climbing" title="Rock climbing">rock climbing</a> partner during their youth, who died in 2008 at the age of 22 from a <a href="/wiki/Stroke" title="Stroke">stroke</a>. He had found Paul unconscious in the family home and tried to revive him; he later became active in raising money for the <a href="/wiki/Foundation_(charity)" class="mw-redirect" title="Foundation (charity)">foundation</a> his parents established to support research into prevention and treatment of strokes.<sup id="cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tampa_Bay_Times_story-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Commercial_Appeal_story-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Later, it was revealed that Paul's cause of death was "anoxic encephalopathy due to combined drug (opiate/benzodiazepine) toxicity",<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> a drug overdose, not a stroke. Paul had not been prescribed opiates.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>His parents suggested their son take a <a href="/wiki/Sabbatical" title="Sabbatical">sabbatical</a>, offering to support him financially while he and his dog, a <a href="/wiki/Chocolate_Labrador" class="mw-redirect" title="Chocolate Labrador">chocolate Labrador</a> he had <a href="/wiki/Rescue_dog" class="mw-redirect" title="Rescue dog">rescued</a>, lived in the family's beach home at <a href="/wiki/Santa_Rosa_Beach,_Florida" title="Santa Rosa Beach, Florida">Santa Rosa Beach</a> on the <a href="/wiki/Emerald_Coast" title="Emerald Coast">Emerald Coast</a> of the <a href="/wiki/Florida_Panhandle" class="mw-redirect" title="Florida Panhandle">Florida Panhandle</a>. He accepted the offer and moved into the house in April 2010. His parents and girlfriend say the move was proving beneficial, as McDaniel was beginning to think and talk about moving on from his recent personal setbacks.<sup id="cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tampa_Bay_Times_story-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Commercial_Appeal_story-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Vortex_Spring.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="A pond with bluish-green water, several buoys and recreational facilities around it, seen on a cloudy day" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Vortex_Spring.jpg/220px-Vortex_Spring.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="147" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Vortex_Spring.jpg/330px-Vortex_Spring.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Vortex_Spring.jpg/440px-Vortex_Spring.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2304" data-file-height="1536" /></a><figcaption>Vortex Spring</figcaption></figure> <p>Relocating to the <a href="/wiki/Gulf_Coast" class="mw-redirect" title="Gulf Coast">Gulf Coast</a> allowed McDaniel to indulge in his preferred hobby, <a href="/wiki/Scuba_diving" title="Scuba diving">scuba diving</a>. He had first taken it up at the age of 15, practicing with his tanks in the family pool. Despite living on the coast during his sabbatical, he preferred to <a href="/wiki/Freshwater_diving" class="mw-redirect" title="Freshwater diving">dive in fresh water</a>, becoming a frequent visitor to <a href="/wiki/Vortex_Spring" title="Vortex Spring">Vortex Spring</a>, located inland a short distance north of <a href="/wiki/Ponce_de_Leon,_Florida" title="Ponce de Leon, Florida">Ponce de Leon</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tampa_Bay_Times_story-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Commercial_Appeal_story-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Vortex_Spring">Vortex Spring</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Disappearance_of_Ben_McDaniel&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Vortex Spring"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>At Vortex Spring, which claims on its website to be the largest diving facility in the state,<sup id="cite_ref-Vortex_Spring_about_us_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Vortex_Spring_about_us-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> divers descend into clear waters at a constant temperature of 68 °F (20 °C) fed by the <a href="/wiki/Floridan_Aquifer" class="mw-redirect" title="Floridan Aquifer">Floridan Aquifer</a>. <a href="/wiki/Dive_training" class="mw-redirect" title="Dive training">Diving instruction</a> is offered for all levels; experienced divers come for the underwater wildlife and the cavern, which begins 58 feet (18 m) below the surface. All divers are required to present proof of <a href="/wiki/Open-water_diving" title="Open-water diving">open-water</a> certification and sign a <a href="/wiki/Legal_release" title="Legal release">release</a> of <a href="/wiki/Public_liability" title="Public liability">liability</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Vortex_Spring_diving_page_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Vortex_Spring_diving_page-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Vortex_Spring_cave_warning_sign.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="A white warning sign with a picture of the Grim Reaper and the headline "Prevent your death. Go no farther" over black text explaining the dangers to divers of proceeding into the cave without proper equipment and certification." src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Vortex_Spring_cave_warning_sign.jpg/220px-Vortex_Spring_cave_warning_sign.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="155" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Vortex_Spring_cave_warning_sign.jpg/330px-Vortex_Spring_cave_warning_sign.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Vortex_Spring_cave_warning_sign.jpg/440px-Vortex_Spring_cave_warning_sign.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1454" data-file-height="1022" /></a><figcaption>Warning sign near the entrance to the cave</figcaption></figure> <p>For the most experienced divers, the main attraction of Vortex Spring is the cave, which starts 300 feet (91 m) from the cavern, at a depth of 115 feet (35 m).<sup id="cite_ref-Atlas_Obscura_10-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Atlas_Obscura-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> At the entrance is a sign depicting the <a href="/wiki/Grim_Reaper" class="mw-redirect" title="Grim Reaper">Grim Reaper</a> which warns divers of the dangers of continuing onward. The cave steadily narrows, reaching a makeshift <a href="/wiki/Rebar" title="Rebar">rebar</a> gate with a chain and padlock, at a point almost 300 feet (91 m) from the entrance. The dive shop withheld the gate key, unless a diver showed proof of <a href="/wiki/Cave_diving" title="Cave diving">cave diving</a> certification, which requires two months' training including 125 dives with an instructor or certified diving partner. This policy was instituted after the deaths of 13 divers in the cave during the 1990s, and in response to threats from the state to ban diving in the cave entirely.<sup id="cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tampa_Bay_Times_story-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Commercial_Appeal_story-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Beginning at the gate, over 1,600 feet (490 m) through the area's <a href="/wiki/Limestone" title="Limestone">limestone</a> bedrock have been mapped, to a depth of 310 feet (94 m); the cave's full extent is unknown.<sup id="cite_ref-Atlas_Obscura_10-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Atlas_Obscura-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> At some points, the passage narrows to 10 inches (25 cm), requiring divers to remove their tanks, push them forward through the passage, and then twist their bodies to follow.<sup id="cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tampa_Bay_Times_story-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>McDaniel's dives at the site were regular enough that the dive shop employees and other frequent visitors came to know him. One of the employees, Chuck Cronin, believed that while McDaniel had the proper equipment and considerable diving knowledge, he was often overly confident in his abilities and not shy about saying so.<sup id="cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tampa_Bay_Times_story-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> That opinion, the <i><a href="/wiki/Memphis_Commercial_Appeal" class="mw-redirect" title="Memphis Commercial Appeal">Memphis Commercial Appeal</a></i> later reported, was shared by posters on a scuba diving website, scubaboard.com, who had also met McDaniel during trips to Vortex Spring. (According to a 2014 online comment by his father, he could not find anyone at Vortex Spring willing to be his diving partner, so <a href="/wiki/Solo_diving" title="Solo diving">he did his dives alone</a>.)<sup id="cite_ref-2014_Comment_by_Shelby_McDaniel_11-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2014_Comment_by_Shelby_McDaniel-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> His parents later defended him from those criticisms by seeing them as positive traits. "Ben was brave," his father later said. "Ben was fearless. He followed his passions."<sup id="cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Commercial_Appeal_story-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Disappearance">Disappearance</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Disappearance_of_Ben_McDaniel&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Disappearance"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In mid-August, four months into his Florida sojourn, McDaniel returned to Tennessee for a week. His parents and girlfriend, Emily Greer, said he seemed optimistic. He told them he was working on getting certified as an instructor so he could find a job and that he was researching <a href="/wiki/Cave_diving" title="Cave diving">cave diving</a> with an eye toward getting that certification as well. On his nights out with Greer, he told her of plans to eventually start a diving-related business. On the weekend of August 14–15, he returned to Florida, leaving behind a letter thanking his parents for the sabbatical and promising to look after them as they grew older. They never saw him again.<sup id="cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tampa_Bay_Times_story-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>On August 18, the Wednesday after he returned to the Santa Rosa Beach house, he went up to Vortex Spring again. In the middle of the day, he did one dive. Other divers saw him looking closely at the area around the cave entrance as if he was planning something. After resurfacing, he was recorded on <a href="/wiki/Security_camera" class="mw-redirect" title="Security camera">security cameras</a> making a transaction to fill his tanks at the dive shop.<sup id="cite_ref-Security_comment_by_Shelby_McDaniel_12-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Security_comment_by_Shelby_McDaniel-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> He spent much of the rest of the afternoon by himself alongside the spring, witnesses said, testing equipment and making notes in his <a href="/wiki/Dive_log" title="Dive log">dive log</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tampa_Bay_Times_story-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The day had been hot, with temperatures around 90 °F (32 °C), and as evening came McDaniel began preparing for another dive. He called his mother on his cell phone, the last contact he had with his family. Around 7:30 p.m., as the sun began to set, he went in again.<sup id="cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tampa_Bay_Times_story-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Cronin and fellow employee Eduardo Taran, on their way back from a dive themselves – something they often did on Wednesdays after the shop closed – saw McDaniel as he began descending, with his lights on and wearing a helmet, suggesting he was venturing into the cave. Taran, who had suspected for some time that Ben was forcing the gate open, went down to him and unlocked it, watching McDaniel go in and then returning to Cronin. No one is known to have seen him since.<sup id="cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tampa_Bay_Times_story-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>On some nights when they had seen McDaniel dive late, the two had stayed at the spring after resurfacing until they saw bubbles on the surface, indicating that he was beginning to <a href="/wiki/Decompression_(diving)" title="Decompression (diving)">decompress</a> in order to safely resurface.<sup id="cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Commercial_Appeal_story-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> On the night of the 18th, they instead went back to Taran's house for coffee.<sup id="cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tampa_Bay_Times_story-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>McDaniel 's truck was still in the parking lot the next morning, but with many summer visitors coming to enjoy the site's many water-based recreational opportunities and picnic grounds in addition to diving, the employees said they were too busy to notice. They did see the truck the next morning. After determining that no one else had seen McDaniel , Taran called the <a href="/wiki/Holmes_County,_Florida" title="Holmes County, Florida">Holmes County</a> sheriff's office.<sup id="cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Commercial_Appeal_story-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Search">Search</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Disappearance_of_Ben_McDaniel&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Search"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Upon arrival, the sheriff's deputies sealed off the spring with crime-scene tape. McDaniel's tanks, <a href="/wiki/Wet_suit" class="mw-redirect" title="Wet suit">wet suit</a> and other diving equipment were not present and there were no signs of a struggle near his truck or anywhere else he could have been. His wallet, with almost $1,100 in cash, and cell phone were in the cab of his truck; dive logs showed that he had explored the cave and a map he made was also found.<sup id="cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Commercial_Appeal_story-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>At the Santa Rosa Beach house officers found his dog, hungry from having been unfed for two days. Based on these circumstances, police and dive shop employees assumed that he had never resurfaced and had in all probability drowned somewhere in the cave trying to get out. <a href="/wiki/Search_and_rescue_dogs#Applications" class="mw-redirect" title="Search and rescue dogs">Cadaver dogs</a> alerted on the water surface, further supporting that theory.<sup id="cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tampa_Bay_Times_story-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Reports of a missing diver in the Vortex Spring cave spread and other cave divers volunteered for what they assumed would be a recovery operation, taking advantage of the weekend. McDaniel's parents were called, and they drove to Florida, along with Greer, to observe from the shore. News media in the Panhandle and Memphis followed the search closely.<sup id="cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Commercial_Appeal_story-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Captain Harry Hamilton, an investigator in Holmes County, assumed at first that a very large number of divers, both amateur and expert, would volunteer to search for and recover McDaniel's body. He soon realized that very few divers "in the world" possessed the training and skill to attempt such a dangerous cave diving recovery.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Experienced divers scoured the cave, investigating small crevices and fissures McDaniel might have entered in a panicked attempt to exit the cave as his tanks ran low, which was a pattern found in other cave diving deaths. It was risky work, and one diver said they had nearly died during the search. Multiple divers searched through the weekend, but did not find McDaniel.<sup id="cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tampa_Bay_Times_story-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Discovery_of_tanks">Discovery of tanks</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Disappearance_of_Ben_McDaniel&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Discovery of tanks"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Two tanks known to belong to McDaniel were found near the entrance to the cave. This discovery struck some searchers as inconsistent with McDaniel's supposed intent to explore the cave, as cave divers usually place extra "air" tanks for <a href="/wiki/Decompression_(diving)" title="Decompression (diving)">decompression</a> at points along their exit route, and not only at the entrance to the cave. When tested, the tanks were found to contain normal air and not the <a href="/wiki/Breathing_gas" title="Breathing gas">specialized gas mix</a> required for diving at depth. McDaniel would have been aware of this requirement, if he had been researching cave diving as his parents reported.<sup id="cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Commercial_Appeal_story-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>More detailed information regarding tanks was given in the <i>Ben's Vortex</i> documentary. Three tanks believed to belong to McDaniel were recovered. Tank one, an "aluminum 80" (80 cubic ft capacity), full tank with a regulator, was found 200 feet (61 m) inside the cave. Two other tanks, lacking regulators, were attached to the "talk box" in the outer cavern area (Piano Room) where the talk box was located at the time. All contained normal air, not a specialized gas mix.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The talk box, originally located in the Piano Room of the cave, was moved to the basin area of Vortex Springs and is now at a depth of only 21 feet (6.4 m).<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Searches_by_recovery_specialist">Searches by recovery specialist</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Disappearance_of_Ben_McDaniel&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Searches by recovery specialist"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>By Sunday, August 22, no other signs of McDaniel had been found. A text message was sent<sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Words_to_watch#Unsupported_attributions" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Words to watch"><span title="The material near this tag may use weasel words or too-vague attribution. (November 2024)">by whom?</span></a></i>]</sup> to <a href="/wiki/Edd_Sorenson" title="Edd Sorenson">Edd Sorenson</a>, a veteran cave diver and recovery specialist with nearly 2,500 logged dives. He was leading an expedition on a yacht in the <a href="/wiki/Bahamas" class="mw-redirect" title="Bahamas">Bahamas</a>. He came to Vortex Springs the next day. Other divers, and an official with International Underwater Cave Rescue and Recovery, told him it was too dangerous to search any deeper into the cave.<sup id="cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tampa_Bay_Times_story-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Sorenson, who has been described by the <i><a href="/wiki/Tampa_Bay_Times" title="Tampa Bay Times">Tampa Bay Times</a></i> as being able to go where other divers cannot,<sup id="cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tampa_Bay_Times_story-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> persisted. He made three separate dives that day,<sup id="cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Commercial_Appeal_story-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> going (by his account) 1,700 feet (520 m) into the cave, 200 feet (61 m) further than those sections McDaniel had mapped, using a <a href="/wiki/Diver_propulsion_vehicle" title="Diver propulsion vehicle">diver propulsion vehicle</a> and smaller tanks to increase his range. He found nothing – no body, and no evidence of one such as increased activity by <a href="/wiki/Carnivore" title="Carnivore">carnivorous</a> aquatic scavengers, nor any evidence that McDaniel had gotten into those sections, such as marks on the cave walls or disturbed <a href="/wiki/Silt" title="Silt">silt</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tampa_Bay_Times_story-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>McDaniel was 6 feet 1 inch (185 cm) tall and weighed 210 pounds (95 kg), one inch (2.5 cm) taller and 20 pounds (9.1 kg) heavier than Sorenson. Without cave diving training, Sorenson said, there was no way McDaniel could have gotten through some of the narrower passages, called restrictions by divers, in the cave. "I know what I'm doing and I barely made it through," he told the <i><a href="/wiki/Memphis_Commercial_Appeal" class="mw-redirect" title="Memphis Commercial Appeal">Commercial Appeal</a></i>. "The last place I searched was pristine, without a mark that a diver had been there. It would be impossible to go through that restriction without making a mark on the floor or ceiling. He's not in there."<sup id="cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Commercial_Appeal_story-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Mapper_and_ROV_efforts">Mapper and ROV efforts</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Disappearance_of_Ben_McDaniel&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Mapper and ROV efforts"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>McDaniel's parents hired Steve Keene, who had originally mapped the Vortex Spring cave in 2003, to look. After seven dives, he apologized to them for not finding any fresh sign of McDaniel. "If he's in there, I don't know where he'd be," he said later.<sup id="cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tampa_Bay_Times_story-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> They agreed to put up $54,000 to guarantee the cost of replacing a <a href="/wiki/Remotely_operated_underwater_vehicle" title="Remotely operated underwater vehicle">remotely operated underwater vehicle</a> brought to the spring by the <a href="/wiki/Fort_Lauderdale,_Florida" title="Fort Lauderdale, Florida">Fort Lauderdale</a> police, in case it was lost in the cave.<sup id="cite_ref-ROV_Comment_by_Shelby_McDaniel_4-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ROV_Comment_by_Shelby_McDaniel-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Due to technical issues, it was unable to go any farther than the human divers had ventured.<sup id="cite_ref-ROV_Comment_2_by_Shelby_McDaniel_16-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ROV_Comment_2_by_Shelby_McDaniel-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In total, 16 divers spent 36 days looking for McDaniel's body in the cave with no results. Volunteer searches continued afterwards at the spring through November, often with McDaniel's parents and Greer in attendance.<sup id="cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Commercial_Appeal_story-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Searches_on_land">Searches on land</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Disappearance_of_Ben_McDaniel&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Searches on land"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>With the cave thoroughly searched, some divers began questioning whether McDaniel was there at all. Perhaps his body had been secretly removed from the cave before searching began and disposed of on land or it had washed out through the spring's outlet. Others, including Cronin and Kelly, suggested he had staged his own disappearance to start his life over under another identity and escape his past troubles. Authorities began to consider these possibilities and adjust their search.<sup id="cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Commercial_Appeal_story-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tampa_Bay_Times_story-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The cadaver dogs searched the woods around Vortex Spring without success. Assisted by helicopters, they searched the swamps along the spring's outflow into <a href="/w/index.php?title=Blue_Creek_(Sandy_Creek)&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Blue Creek (Sandy Creek) (page does not exist)">Blue Creek</a> and <a href="/w/index.php?title=Sandy_Creek_(Choctawhatchee_River)&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Sandy Creek (Choctawhatchee River) (page does not exist)">Sandy Creek</a> to the <a href="/wiki/Choctawhatchee_River" title="Choctawhatchee River">Choctawhatchee River</a>. Thirty separate tests of the water over the next several months showed no sign of an increase in the <a href="/wiki/Microbiology_of_decomposition" title="Microbiology of decomposition">bacteria that would indicate the presence of a decomposing human body</a>. Taran, who said he had let McDaniel into the cave despite knowing he lacked certification to dive in it, passed a <a href="/wiki/Lie_detector" class="mw-redirect" title="Lie detector">lie detector</a> test of his account.<sup id="cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tampa_Bay_Times_story-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Reward_offer_and_controversy">Reward offer and controversy</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Disappearance_of_Ben_McDaniel&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Reward offer and controversy"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Frustrated by the limitations the search had thus far encountered, and believing that McDaniel's body was in an area of the cave no one had yet reached, McDaniel's parents offered a reward of $10,000, raised from money contributed at a benefit held on what would have been their son's 31st birthday, at the end of the year to anyone "brave" enough to go to those places and find it.<sup id="cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tampa_Bay_Times_story-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The insinuation of cowardice alienated divers who had already risked their lives searching the cave,<sup id="cite_ref-Scubaboard_reward_thread_17-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Scubaboard_reward_thread-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and raised fears among them that it would only encourage untrained divers to enter the cave and take potentially fatal risks for the reward money.<sup id="cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Commercial_Appeal_story-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Undeterred, McDaniel's parents increased the award, twice.<sup id="cite_ref-LeisurePro_story_18-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-LeisurePro_story-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In March 2012, by which time the reward had been increased to $30,000, the fears of the cave divers were realized. Two days before the <a href="/wiki/Investigation_Discovery" title="Investigation Discovery">Investigation Discovery</a> cable channel series <i><a href="/wiki/Disappeared_(TV_series)" class="mw-redirect" title="Disappeared (TV series)">Disappeared</a></i> aired a segment on McDaniel's case, a diver from <a href="/wiki/Biloxi,_Mississippi" title="Biloxi, Mississippi">Biloxi, Mississippi</a>, Larry Higginbotham, died in the cavern at Vortex Spring. His body was found the next day after he, too, had failed to return from a dive. "He just got himself in a pinch and couldn't find his way back out", said one of the divers who recovered the body.<sup id="cite_ref-Higginbotham_death_story_19-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Higginbotham_death_story-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>There was no explicit evidence that Higginbotham was trying to find McDaniel and claim the reward, but the divers who recovered his body believed he was. "He was found near a shovel left near a restriction so small that no one could get through it," said Sorenson, who had pulled Higginbotham's body back through four tight restrictions.<sup id="cite_ref-CA_reward_rescission_story_5-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-CA_reward_rescission_story-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The following month, amid increasing criticism, McDaniel's parents rescinded the reward offer. "Not only did it endanger the lives of divers who would risk going farther than they should," said Sorenson, who was by then even more firmly convinced that their son had not died in the cave, "it put all of our lives at risk because we have to go in to recover the bodies." By that time, McDaniel's parents had also come to believe that, if he had not died in the cave, he had been murdered. A phone tip line they set up had not received any calls, and no one who had not yet said anything was likely to be further motivated to do so, they said.<sup id="cite_ref-CA_reward_rescission_story_5-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-CA_reward_rescission_story-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> McDaniel's father elaborated the following year that the family was told to rescind the reward while in the Vortex Spring area for this reason.<sup id="cite_ref-Shelby_McDaniel_2013_comment_20-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Shelby_McDaniel_2013_comment-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>McDaniel's mother did not believe McDaniel had any intention of abandoning his life. He had left his dog in Santa Rosa Beach and had not given Greer any indication of such plans. She stated he had seen the impact Paul's death had had on his parents.<sup id="cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Commercial_Appeal_story-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Subsequent_investigations">Subsequent investigations</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Disappearance_of_Ben_McDaniel&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Subsequent investigations"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>By 2011, it seemed unlikely that McDaniel's body would be found in the cave. McDaniel's parents began considering the possibility that he had died as a result of foul play, and that his diving disappearance was staged to cover up a crime. Or, perhaps he had been found dead by the dive shop staff, who feared the consequences of that discovery. They hired a Florida <a href="/wiki/Private_investigator" title="Private investigator">private investigator</a>, Lynn-Marie Carty, who found that other people associated with Vortex Spring besides Kelly had criminal records. "There is just as much reason to look above the water for Ben's body as there was to look below it in the cave," she told the <i>Commercial Appeal</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Commercial_Appeal_story-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Some other events reported to have occurred on the day McDaniel disappeared supported that theory. Kelly said shortly afterwards that on that evening, a "wild-eyed" and apparently drunk man appeared at the shop and asked if it was too late to dive; the possibility has been raised that this man, if he existed, may have been involved. Earlier that day, a diver had had a confrontation with several teenagers on the property about their drinking; they eventually left but may have come back in an attempt to exact revenge.<sup id="cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tampa_Bay_Times_story-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In March 2012, McDaniel's parents arranged for <a href="/wiki/Cadaver_dogs" class="mw-redirect" title="Cadaver dogs">cadaver dogs</a> to search the area of the springs again, but with no results.<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Ben's_Vortex"><span id="Ben.27s_Vortex"></span><i>Ben's Vortex</i></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Disappearance_of_Ben_McDaniel&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Ben's Vortex"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Canadian diver <a href="/wiki/Jill_Heinerth" title="Jill Heinerth">Jill Heinerth</a> her husband Robert McClellan, both certified cave divers and <a href="/wiki/Documentary" class="mw-redirect" title="Documentary">documentary</a> filmmakers, went to Vortex Spring to make a short video. They hoped to show it to the McDaniel family in the hopes of giving them a better understanding of the risks associated with cave diving. At the time, Heinerth believed that McDaniel's body was not in the cave's depths; however, during the research process, she read McDaniel's dive logs and map and concluded that he had gotten very far into the cave. She theorized that McDaniel may have burrowed deeper into a narrow crevice.<sup id="cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Commercial_Appeal_story-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Heinerth and McClellan turned their private video short into a feature-length documentary, <i>Ben's Vortex</i>, released in 2012.<sup id="cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Commercial_Appeal_story-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Disappearance_of_Ben_McDaniel&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style 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References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width" style="column-width: 30em;"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-Commercial_Appeal_story-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-5"><sup><i><b>f</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-6"><sup><i><b>g</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-7"><sup><i><b>h</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-8"><sup><i><b>i</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-9"><sup><i><b>j</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-10"><sup><i><b>k</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-11"><sup><i><b>l</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-12"><sup><i><b>m</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-13"><sup><i><b>n</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-14"><sup><i><b>o</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-15"><sup><i><b>p</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-16"><sup><i><b>q</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-17"><sup><i><b>r</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-18"><sup><i><b>s</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Commercial_Appeal_story_1-19"><sup><i><b>t</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFWolff2012" class="citation news cs1">Wolff, Cindy (February 19, 2012). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150912080544/http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/local-news/deep-mystery-experts-disagree">"Theories about Collierville diver's disappearance swirl in vortex of unanswered questions"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/Memphis_Commercial_Appeal" class="mw-redirect" title="Memphis Commercial Appeal">Memphis Commercial Appeal</a></i>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/local-news/deep-mystery-experts-disagree">the original</a> on September 12, 2015<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">July 23,</span> 2015</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Memphis+Commercial+Appeal&rft.atitle=Theories+about+Collierville+diver%27s+disappearance+swirl+in+vortex+of+unanswered+questions&rft.date=2012-02-19&rft.aulast=Wolff&rft.aufirst=Cindy&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.commercialappeal.com%2Fnews%2Flocal-news%2Fdeep-mystery-experts-disagree&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ADisappearance+of+Ben+McDaniel" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Tampa_Bay_Times_story-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-5"><sup><i><b>f</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-6"><sup><i><b>g</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-7"><sup><i><b>h</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-8"><sup><i><b>i</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-9"><sup><i><b>j</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-10"><sup><i><b>k</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-11"><sup><i><b>l</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-12"><sup><i><b>m</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-13"><sup><i><b>n</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-14"><sup><i><b>o</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-15"><sup><i><b>p</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-16"><sup><i><b>q</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-17"><sup><i><b>r</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-18"><sup><i><b>s</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-19"><sup><i><b>t</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-20"><sup><i><b>u</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tampa_Bay_Times_story_2-21"><sup><i><b>v</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMontgomery2011" class="citation news cs1">Montgomery, Ben (April 15, 2011). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150720185609/http://www.tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/when-a-diver-goes-missing-a-deep-cave-is-scene-of-a-deeper-mystery/1163972">"When a diver goes missing, a deep cave is scene of a deeper mystery"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/Tampa_Bay_Times" title="Tampa Bay Times">Tampa Bay Times</a></i>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/when-a-diver-goes-missing-a-deep-cave-is-scene-of-a-deeper-mystery/1163972">the original</a> on 2015-07-20<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">July 23,</span> 2015</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Tampa+Bay+Times&rft.atitle=When+a+diver+goes+missing%2C+a+deep+cave+is+scene+of+a+deeper+mystery&rft.date=2011-04-15&rft.aulast=Montgomery&rft.aufirst=Ben&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tampabay.com%2Ffeatures%2Fhumaninterest%2Fwhen-a-diver-goes-missing-a-deep-cave-is-scene-of-a-deeper-mystery%2F1163972&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ADisappearance+of+Ben+McDaniel" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Death_certificate-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Death_certificate_3-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMcDaniel2013" class="citation web cs1">McDaniel, Shelby (June 20, 2013). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/non-diving-related-stuff/457930-ben-mcdaniel.html">"Ben McDaniel"</a>. scubaboard.com. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20231024171818/https://scubaboard.com/community/threads/ben-mcdaniel.457930/">Archived</a> from the original on October 24, 2023<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">July 26,</span> 2015</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Ben+McDaniel&rft.pub=scubaboard.com&rft.date=2013-06-20&rft.aulast=McDaniel&rft.aufirst=Shelby&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.scubaboard.com%2Fforums%2Fnon-diving-related-stuff%2F457930-ben-mcdaniel.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ADisappearance+of+Ben+McDaniel" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-ROV_Comment_by_Shelby_McDaniel-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-ROV_Comment_by_Shelby_McDaniel_4-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-ROV_Comment_by_Shelby_McDaniel_4-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMcDaniel2013" class="citation web cs1">McDaniel, Shelby (August 21, 2013). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.leisurepro.com/blog/scuba-diving-stories-news/happened-ben-mcdaniel-unanswered-questions/#comment-39523">"Comment#39523, LeisurePro story"</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">July 25,</span> 2013</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Comment%2339523%2C+LeisurePro+story&rft.date=2013-08-21&rft.aulast=McDaniel&rft.aufirst=Shelby&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.leisurepro.com%2Fblog%2Fscuba-diving-stories-news%2Fhappened-ben-mcdaniel-unanswered-questions%2F%23comment-39523&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ADisappearance+of+Ben+McDaniel" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-CA_reward_rescission_story-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-CA_reward_rescission_story_5-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-CA_reward_rescission_story_5-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-CA_reward_rescission_story_5-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFWolff2012" class="citation news cs1">Wolff, Cindy (April 14, 2012). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/local-news/parents-pull-reward-for-missing-diver">"Collierville parents pull reward for missing diver"</a>. <i>Memphis Commercial Appeal</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">July 25,</span> 2015</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Memphis+Commercial+Appeal&rft.atitle=Collierville+parents+pull+reward+for+missing+diver&rft.date=2012-04-14&rft.aulast=Wolff&rft.aufirst=Cindy&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.commercialappeal.com%2Fnews%2Flocal-news%2Fparents-pull-reward-for-missing-diver&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ADisappearance+of+Ben+McDaniel" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation audio-visual cs1">Jill Heinerth (Director) (2012). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160320090420/http://www.intotheplanet.com/we-are-water-project/"><i>Ben's Vortex</i></a> (DVD). Heinerth Productions, Inc. Event occurs at 1:17:28. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0979878985" title="Special:BookSources/0979878985"><bdi>0979878985</bdi></a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.intotheplanet.com/we-are-water-project/">the original</a> on 20 March 2016. <q>shows death certificate, continuing to @1:18:00</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Ben%27s+Vortex&rft.pub=Heinerth+Productions%2C+Inc.&rft.date=2012&rft.isbn=0979878985&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.intotheplanet.com%2Fwe-are-water-project%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ADisappearance+of+Ben+McDaniel" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation audio-visual cs1">Jill Heinerth (Director) (2012). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160320090420/http://www.intotheplanet.com/we-are-water-project/"><i>Ben's Vortex</i></a> (DVD). Heinerth Productions, Inc. Event occurs at 1:18:08. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0979878985" title="Special:BookSources/0979878985"><bdi>0979878985</bdi></a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.intotheplanet.com/we-are-water-project/">the original</a> on 20 March 2016. <q>There was no blockage of arteries or bleeding in the brain. Dr. David Sawatsky</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Ben%27s+Vortex&rft.pub=Heinerth+Productions%2C+Inc.&rft.date=2012&rft.isbn=0979878985&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.intotheplanet.com%2Fwe-are-water-project%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ADisappearance+of+Ben+McDaniel" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Vortex_Spring_about_us-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Vortex_Spring_about_us_8-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130609125112/http://www.vortexspring.com/about-us.html">"About Vortex Spring"</a>. <a href="/wiki/Vortex_Spring" title="Vortex Spring">Vortex Spring</a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.vortexspring.com/about-us.html">the original</a> on June 9, 2013<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">July 23,</span> 2015</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=About+Vortex+Spring&rft.pub=Vortex+Spring&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vortexspring.com%2Fabout-us.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ADisappearance+of+Ben+McDaniel" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Vortex_Spring_diving_page-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Vortex_Spring_diving_page_9-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140302202626/http://www.vortexspring.com/diving4.html">"Scuba Diving!"</a>. <a href="/wiki/Vortex_Spring" title="Vortex Spring">Vortex Spring</a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.vortexspring.com/diving4.html">the original</a> on March 2, 2014<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">July 23,</span> 2015</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Scuba+Diving%21&rft.pub=Vortex+Spring&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vortexspring.com%2Fdiving4.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ADisappearance+of+Ben+McDaniel" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Atlas_Obscura-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Atlas_Obscura_10-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Atlas_Obscura_10-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFCasey" class="citation web cs1">Casey, Mark. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/vortex-spring">"Vortex Spring"</a>. Atlas Obscura<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">July 23,</span> 2015</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Vortex+Spring&rft.pub=Atlas+Obscura&rft.aulast=Casey&rft.aufirst=Mark&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.atlasobscura.com%2Fplaces%2Fvortex-spring&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ADisappearance+of+Ben+McDaniel" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2014_Comment_by_Shelby_McDaniel-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2014_Comment_by_Shelby_McDaniel_11-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMcDaniel2014" class="citation web cs1">McDaniel, Shelby (July 8, 2014). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.leisurepro.com/blog/scuba-diving-stories-news/happened-ben-mcdaniel-unanswered-questions/#comment-40213">"Comment #40213, LeisurePro story"</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">July 25,</span> 2013</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Comment+%2340213%2C+LeisurePro+story&rft.date=2014-07-08&rft.aulast=McDaniel&rft.aufirst=Shelby&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.leisurepro.com%2Fblog%2Fscuba-diving-stories-news%2Fhappened-ben-mcdaniel-unanswered-questions%2F%23comment-40213&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ADisappearance+of+Ben+McDaniel" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Security_comment_by_Shelby_McDaniel-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Security_comment_by_Shelby_McDaniel_12-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMcDaniel2014" class="citation web cs1">McDaniel, Shelby (January 8, 2014). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.leisurepro.com/blog/scuba-diving-stories-news/happened-ben-mcdaniel-unanswered-questions/#comment-40046">"Comment#40046, LeisurePro story"</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">July 25,</span> 2013</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Comment%2340046%2C+LeisurePro+story&rft.date=2014-01-08&rft.aulast=McDaniel&rft.aufirst=Shelby&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.leisurepro.com%2Fblog%2Fscuba-diving-stories-news%2Fhappened-ben-mcdaniel-unanswered-questions%2F%23comment-40046&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ADisappearance+of+Ben+McDaniel" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-13">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation audio-visual cs1">Jill Heinerth (Director) (2012). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160320090420/http://www.intotheplanet.com/we-are-water-project/"><i>Ben's Vortex</i></a> (DVD). Heinerth Productions, Inc. Event occurs at 22:15. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0979878985" title="Special:BookSources/0979878985"><bdi>0979878985</bdi></a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.intotheplanet.com/we-are-water-project/">the original</a> on 20 March 2016. <q>We thought we'd have a flood of expert and amateur divers...but, there's not that many people, in the world, who have the capability and the guts to go into that spring." Capt. Harry Hamilton</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Ben%27s+Vortex&rft.pub=Heinerth+Productions%2C+Inc.&rft.date=2012&rft.isbn=0979878985&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.intotheplanet.com%2Fwe-are-water-project%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ADisappearance+of+Ben+McDaniel" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-14">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation audio-visual cs1">Jill Heinerth (Director) (2012). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160320090420/http://www.intotheplanet.com/we-are-water-project/"><i>Ben's Vortex</i></a> (DVD). Heinerth Productions, Inc. Event occurs at 23:19. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0979878985" title="Special:BookSources/0979878985"><bdi>0979878985</bdi></a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.intotheplanet.com/we-are-water-project/">the original</a> on 20 March 2016.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Ben%27s+Vortex&rft.pub=Heinerth+Productions%2C+Inc.&rft.date=2012&rft.isbn=0979878985&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.intotheplanet.com%2Fwe-are-water-project%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ADisappearance+of+Ben+McDaniel" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-15">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFDeepswim_-_Nik_Vatin2013" class="citation web cs1">Deepswim - Nik Vatin (13 August 2013). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-YKVrpxDzk&list=PLgfFdKv10E80TQ32Tx17bqsvsALHp2TMS&index=42">"3/4 naked Vortex Cave measuring"</a> – via www.youtube.com.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=3%2F4+naked+Vortex+Cave+measuring&rft.date=2013-08-13&rft.au=Deepswim+-+Nik+Vatin&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D2-YKVrpxDzk%26list%3DPLgfFdKv10E80TQ32Tx17bqsvsALHp2TMS%26index%3D42&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ADisappearance+of+Ben+McDaniel" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-ROV_Comment_2_by_Shelby_McDaniel-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-ROV_Comment_2_by_Shelby_McDaniel_16-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMcDaniel2013" class="citation web cs1">McDaniel, Shelby (February 21, 2013). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.leisurepro.com/blog/scuba-diving-stories-news/happened-ben-mcdaniel-unanswered-questions/#comment-37692">"Comment#37692, LeisurePro story"</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">July 25,</span> 2013</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Comment%2337692%2C+LeisurePro+story&rft.date=2013-02-21&rft.aulast=McDaniel&rft.aufirst=Shelby&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.leisurepro.com%2Fblog%2Fscuba-diving-stories-news%2Fhappened-ben-mcdaniel-unanswered-questions%2F%23comment-37692&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ADisappearance+of+Ben+McDaniel" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Scubaboard_reward_thread-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Scubaboard_reward_thread_17-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-378983.html">"Article on Ben McDaniel – Vortex Springs Case"</a>. scubaboard.com. April 19, 2011<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">July 26,</span> 2015</span>. <q>Gotta love the implication that all the divers who risked life in this search, are now cowards ... Grieving or not, I thought it was pretty classless to bash the people who'd been searching for his son.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Article+on+Ben+McDaniel+%E2%80%93+Vortex+Springs+Case&rft.pub=scubaboard.com&rft.date=2011-04-19&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.scubaboard.com%2Fforums%2Farchive%2Findex.php%2Ft-378983.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ADisappearance+of+Ben+McDaniel" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-LeisurePro_story-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-LeisurePro_story_18-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.leisurepro.com/blog/scuba-diving-stories-news/happened-ben-mcdaniel-unanswered-questions/">"What Happened to Ben McDaniel? Unanswered Questions"</a>. LeisurePro.com. February 23, 2012<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">July 25,</span> 2015</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=What+Happened+to+Ben+McDaniel%3F+Unanswered+Questions&rft.pub=LeisurePro.com&rft.date=2012-02-23&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.leisurepro.com%2Fblog%2Fscuba-diving-stories-news%2Fhappened-ben-mcdaniel-unanswered-questions%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ADisappearance+of+Ben+McDaniel" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Higginbotham_death_story-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Higginbotham_death_story_19-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFO'Halloran2012" class="citation news cs1">O'Halloran, Meaghan (March 21, 2012). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150402042628/http://www.wjhg.com/home/headlines/Mississippi_Man_Killed_in_Cave_Diving_Accident_143598566.html">"Mississippi Man Killed in Cave Diving Accident"</a>. <a href="/wiki/WJHG-TV" title="WJHG-TV">WJHG-TV</a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.wjhg.com/home/headlines/Mississippi_Man_Killed_in_Cave_Diving_Accident_143598566.html">the original</a> on April 2, 2015<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">July 25,</span> 2015</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Mississippi+Man+Killed+in+Cave+Diving+Accident&rft.date=2012-03-21&rft.aulast=O%27Halloran&rft.aufirst=Meaghan&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wjhg.com%2Fhome%2Fheadlines%2FMississippi_Man_Killed_in_Cave_Diving_Accident_143598566.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ADisappearance+of+Ben+McDaniel" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Shelby_McDaniel_2013_comment-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Shelby_McDaniel_2013_comment_20-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMcDaniel2013" class="citation web cs1">McDaniel, Shelby (October 14, 2013). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.leisurepro.com/blog/scuba-diving-stories-news/happened-ben-mcdaniel/#comment-39731">"Comment#39731, LeisurePro story"</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">July 25,</span> 2013</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Comment%2339731%2C+LeisurePro+story&rft.date=2013-10-14&rft.aulast=McDaniel&rft.aufirst=Shelby&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.leisurepro.com%2Fblog%2Fscuba-diving-stories-news%2Fhappened-ben-mcdaniel%2F%23comment-39731&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ADisappearance+of+Ben+McDaniel" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-21"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-21">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/parents-of-lost-diver-pin-hopes-for-closure-on-team-of-dogs/1221502/">"Parents of lost diver pin hopes for closure on team of dogs"</a>. <i>Tampa Bay Times</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2022-02-03</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Tampa+Bay+Times&rft.atitle=Parents+of+lost+diver+pin+hopes+for+closure+on+team+of+dogs&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tampabay.com%2Ffeatures%2Fhumaninterest%2Fparents-of-lost-diver-pin-hopes-for-closure-on-team-of-dogs%2F1221502%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ADisappearance+of+Ben+McDaniel" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Disappearance_of_Ben_McDaniel&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.facebook.com/264127273631844">Ben McDaniel, Missing but not forgotten</a> on <a href="/wiki/Facebook_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Facebook (identifier)">Facebook</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2292918/"><i>Ben's Vortex</i></a> at <a href="/wiki/IMDb_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="IMDb (identifier)">IMDb</a> <span class="mw-valign-text-top noprint" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q128789658#P345" title="Edit this at Wikidata"><img alt="Edit this at Wikidata" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png" decoding="async" width="10" height="10" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/15px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/20px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="20" data-file-height="20" /></a></span></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-YKVrpxDzk"><span class="plainlinks">3/4 naked Vortex Cave measuring</span></a> on <a href="/wiki/YouTube_video_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="YouTube video (identifier)">YouTube</a>, video showing the portion of the cave up to the gate</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7BpLS-accE"><span class="plainlinks">Cave diving beyond the locked gate at Vortex Springs</span></a> on <a href="/wiki/YouTube_video_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="YouTube video (identifier)">YouTube</a></li></ul>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Disappearance_of_Ben_McDaniel&oldid=1256131026">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Disappearance_of_Ben_McDaniel&oldid=1256131026</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:2010_in_Florida" title="Category:2010 in Florida">2010 in Florida</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:2010s_missing_person_cases" title="Category:2010s missing person cases">2010s missing person cases</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:August_2010_events_in_the_United_States" title="Category:August 2010 events in the United States">August 2010 events in the United States</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Missing_person_cases_in_Florida" title="Category:Missing person cases in Florida">Missing person cases in Florida</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Cave_diving" title="Category:Cave diving">Cave diving</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Holmes_County,_Florida" title="Category:Holmes County, Florida">Holmes County, Florida</a></li></ul></div><div id="mw-hidden-catlinks" class="mw-hidden-catlinks mw-hidden-cats-hidden">Hidden categories: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Pages_using_gadget_WikiMiniAtlas" title="Category:Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas">Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_short_description" title="Category:Articles with short description">Articles with short description</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Short_description_is_different_from_Wikidata" title="Category:Short description is different from Wikidata">Short description is different from Wikidata</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Coordinates_on_Wikidata" title="Category:Coordinates on Wikidata">Coordinates on Wikidata</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_hCards" title="Category:Articles with hCards">Articles with hCards</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_specifically_marked_weasel-worded_phrases_from_November_2024" title="Category:Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from November 2024">Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from November 2024</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Pages_using_IMDb_title_with_no_id_set" title="Category:Pages using IMDb title with no id set">Pages using IMDb title with no id set</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </main> </div> <div class="mw-footer-container"> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" > <ul id="footer-info"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 8 November 2024, at 11:04<span class="anonymous-show"> (UTC)</span>.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Text is available under the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_4.0_International_License" title="Wikipedia:Text of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License</a>; 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