A scuba diver has been found dead in a notorious underwater labyrinth after vanishing during a trip.
Police were called to Twin Caves in the Blue Springs Recreation Area in Florida on Tuesday after three people failed to return to the surface on time.
Twin Caves extends back hundreds of feet and has three passages that drop to even greater depths. The cavern descends in stages going from 20ft to 100ft deep. It also features multiple ‘jump tunnels’ that run off into wider tunnels.
Rescue teams quickly swooped and dragged two of them out of the complex cavern to safety at around 1.15pm on Tuesday.
But the third diver, who has not been named, was found dead in the system. The coroner is working to determine the cause of death.
Sheriff Donnie Edenfield thanked Jackson County Fire & Rescue, Florida Fish and Wildlife, and the staff at Cave Adventures for their help with the rescue.
He also urged the community to ‘please keep the families of the divers in your thoughts and prayers’.
The Twin Caves are located at the bottom of Merritt’s Mill Pond, situated in a park in Marianna, located roughly 65 miles northwest of Tallahassee.
The Twin Caves are located at the bottom of Merritt’s Mill Pond, situated in the Blue Springs Recreation Area in Marianna, Florida located roughly 65 miles northwest of Tallahassee (file photo of divers exploring the Twin Caves)
Twin Caves appears to be a notoriously dangerous diving spot, with social media users this week saying it is ‘very sad’ to learn the cavern has ‘claimed another life’ (file photo)
Diving instructor Mehdi Zinetti (pictured) went into the cave searching for the missing diver. He was in ‘complete zero visibility’ conditions, so he had to do ‘everything by feel’. He found the victim in the cave and brought him out
Diving instructor Mehdi Zinetti went into the cave searching for the missing divers after they failed to turn from their dive.
He first found one of the divers who was trying to locate her friend, News 13 reports. Zinetti made sure she was okay and watched her exit the cave herself.
He then came back into the cave to search for her missing friend, world renown diving expert Edd Sorenson said. Sorenson had been called to carry out the rescue but was 50 miles away at the time.
According to Sorenson, the ‘intricate’ cave system allows for divers to return safely to the surface without being seen.
But when Zinetti returned to the surface and didn’t see the woman’s friend, he went back into the cave despite having limited air supply.
‘He thought since he had to go multiple directions maybe he missed him and maybe he’s out safe. So he exited and he wasn’t there yet. So he went back in again,’ Sorenson told the TV station.
He said that Zinetti was in ‘complete zero visibility’, so he had to do ‘everything by feel’. He then found the victim in the cave and brought him out.
Sorenson, who sped to the scene after the call for help came in, was prepared to go into the cave and assist Zinetti, but by the time he arrived the diver had been pulled out and authorities were on scene.
Officials attempted to CPR and a life flight was inbound, but nothing could be done to save the diver.
Tuesday was the first time Zinetti ever carried out a body recovery or rescue, according to Sorenson.
Sorenson, who owns the nearby Cave Adventures Dive Shop, is a leading expert in dives and rescues. He has conducted several body rescues and is reportedly the only person in the world to have completed more than one successful cave rescue in his lifetime.
Merritt’s Mill Pond (pictured) is a popular swimming and diving spot due to its clear, light blue waters and lack of vegetation
The Twin Caves system extends back hundreds of feet and has three passages that drop to even greater depths. The cavern descends in stages going from 20ft to 100ft deep and up to 3,000ft underground. It also features multiple ‘jump tunnels’ that run off into wider tunnels
Merritt’s Mill Pond is a popular swimming and diving spot due to its clear, light blue waters and lack of vegetation.
The two caves can be found roughly 88ft away from the swimming platform at the man-made pond, according to Cave Atlas.
Cave Adventures warns the cave system is a ‘low flow cave’ that can easily become filled or blocked with silt if divers are not careful.
The cavern is also very tight, with officials noting ‘if you get nervous in small places, this isn’t the passage for you’.
The cave system at Merritt’s Mill Pond appears to be a notoriously dangerous diving spot, with several deaths reported over the years.
One social media user, commenting on Tuesday’s tragedy, said it is ‘very sad’ to learn the cavern has ‘claimed another life’.
Clyde Douglas Rorex, 68, who frequently went diving in the pond area, died in July 2020 after getting trapped in the Hole in The Wall cave.
Rorex’s family reported him missing on the morning on July 8 after he took off from a public boat ramp around 6am and failed to return by 10 am, as scheduled.
His body was recovered from the pond by Sorenson later that afternoon, News 13 reported at the time. Sorenson revealed Rorex had gotten trapped inside the cave.
Rorex had been diving ‘for close to 20 years’, police said, adding that he would dive in the area ‘almost every day’.
Four years earlier, almost to the day, a 17-year-old boy drowned in Merritt’s Mill Pond while attending a birthday party.
Jeremiah Sabeff was swimming near two large floats several with other children on July 9, 2016 when he vanished out of sight, NWF Daily News reported.
One of the other children tried to pull Sabeff to the surface but ‘was not strong enough to keep him there and continue swimming’, investigators said.
Clyde Douglas Rorex, 68, who frequently went diving in the Merritt’s Mill Pond area, died in July 2020 after getting trapped in the Hole in The Wall cave
Jeremiah Sabeff, 17, drowned in Merritt’s Mill Pond while attending a birthday party on July 9, 2016
A child informed their parent that Sabeff had gone under water and could not be found, prompting a search for the teen.
His lifeless body was found hidden in the sediment at the bottom of the pond by a parent whose child had attended the party.
Sabeff was pulled out of the water and was given CPR, according to the incident report, which notes how he had ‘turned blue’ and appeared to have ‘lungs full of water’.
Paramedics took the teen to a nearby hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
DailyMail.com has approached the sheriff’s office and the regional medical examiner for comment.
