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Dude the way you create, present, and narrate your videos, it’s all just so incredibly well done. I’m a skipper, spent many years at sea, and being totally honest, I admire the what you do, and I can not fault anything, at all, within the content you create. I’d really like to chat with you sometime, if at all possible please. Great work, well done.
The ending of the video was abrupt and confusing. At the beginning it is said that one body was recovered ten years later and the other nearly 21 years later but by the end of the video it is said that 20 years later Kent's remains were found. Nothing about Mark . Any way you can clarify this in the description box?
@@waterlinestories CC the guy above "The ending of the video was abrupt and confusing. At the beginning it is said that one body was recovered ten years later and the other nearly 21 years later but by the end of the video it is said that 20 years later Kent's remains were found. Nothing about Mark . Any way you can clarify this in the description box?"
I agree, also the lack of footage on the recovered bodies and where they were found is another intriguing detail missing. Did Kent and Mark get stuck? Buried alive? Stick in the passage on the opposite side of Chamber 4? This video leaves more questions than answers.
Both bodies were eventually recovered. Brashier's remains washed out of the well during a 1981 flood, while Maupins bones were recovered in the year 2000 after researchers accidentally found him in chamber 4, they said “i first noticed one femur bone, then a second…”….even then the team could NOT get Maupins bones until 2 further separate dive attempts were made.
@teatowel11 Aapparently the opening of the fourth chamber back in the 1970s was just 45cm tall ish. In the present day it is now between 60cm to 90cm tall, so I’d say some kind of natural change has occurred over time rather than any technology changes. They would definitely have had better technology in the year 2000 when they were mapping, but it wasn’t that technology that helped them stumble across the bones, just pure luck.
@@llxxblondiexxll Could be chemical erosion from the flow of water wearing away the roof of the passage, or the flood you mentioned shifting large amounts of gravel out of the way. Thanks for the more in-depth update on how they were found!
I've been once, but in fairly large, open caves in SA. Places like the cave in the video, those scare me. You couldn't pay me all the money in the world to dive places like that
I went cave diving. As soon as I was in the entrance I could see the exit. It was a giant hole is the coral reef. Shout out Christmas Tree Reef off Florida. Fuck caves
If you go up Mt. Everest there’s an unwritten rule that no-one will risk themselves dragging your carcass off the mountain. Cave divers need to do the same.
And as you know there are many bodies on the trail to the summit of Everest. Some have even become landmarks to watch for as a climber makes his way to the top.
Also names like the 'birth canal' doesn't fill one with confidence. I've been through one birth canal in my life and if I had any comprehensive intelligence at that stage, I probably would've stayed where I was🤔😂
I dive professionally as a biologist. I’ve dove in pitch black rivers, under ice, under dams, and in currents that will wash you downstream with one mistake. Really risky dives, very dangerous. I would NEVER go into a cave. I’ve had to hold onto boulders while a barge passes over me, climbed through tress in 50ft of water, moved snapping turtles in alligator infested swamps. Never a cave, ever.
My dad is a level 4 dive master. With over 3000 dives logged. He was a commercial diver for 10 years. We go fishing and we have been in the worst kinds of weather (I'm talking 7 meter waves once in a 6 foot seafarer). he grew up around the water so nothing much fazes him. He's had nitrogen narcosis plenty of times and due to he's high drug tolerance he can handle it pretty well. I asked him the other day if he was ever interested in cave diving. He said "as competent as I am a diver im not interested in that". I asked why? He said "it's too easy to get stuck or disoriented due to being silted out where you can't see anything plenty of things can go wrong". I asked "does it scare you" he said "oh yeah"
I’m not a fan of closed in spaces. Not full blown claustrophobia, but you’re not going to find me crawling around a tight passage in a dry cave. Forget underwater. Now I’ll take a ROV and do it. But forget diving. Ironically, if I could, I’d have no problem diving a shipwreck on the Great Lakes or something. Just a big no for caves
I'm probably in the same scale as you. I Prefer wrecks but I'm intrigued by caves although I've avoided my entire life. I would like to do some of the safer cave dives. All relative I guess.
During our advanced open water class we were going through emergency protocols and such. We had a discussion about lots of survival rate statistics. Our dive master said, "Do you want to come back alive? Then never go cave diving." That always stuck with me though it does look cool haha
As a CCR cave diver, I can definitely say that training, and following your training, is critical. I’ve been in silt-outs. There is specific training as to how you navigate them (never let go of your line, tap diver in front of you if team diving, turn your light inward, etc). The biggest problem with silt-outs if you know what you are doing is that they can slow you down, which messes with deco time/gas supply.
Its bizarre how impotently watching your friends make poor decisions that you physically cannot talk them out of, then having to write them off as dead because you can't wait around for them to come back anymore without running out of air and dying yourself is something you just have to deal with in diving.
Recreational divers don’t face these situations, and most technical/cave divers don’t either. There’s a reason these deaths make the news; they happen very infrequently.
Yup. That's why you have a dive master involved with a safe dive. Without a dive master there a very good chance that an accident could happen. Gotta have a plan set and then FOLLOW said plan as set forward by the dives master.😐
so there was funding to recover the bodies but no funding for the hospital bill for the person who risked his life to assist in finding the bodies... what a world we are in today
This guy’s insurance LAPSED (Not yelling- emphasizing ). A site that is maintained publicly (vs. privately) will not let divers down without the right certifications and insurance.
2:10 Just watching people go through that gap gives me anxiety. I'm a structural ironworker. I'll walk along steel multiple stories in the air all day long, but tight spaces like that, solid nope.
Cave Diving is the epitomy of that one Jeff Goldblum quote: "We were so focused on trying to find out whether we could, we never stopped to ask ourselves if we should."
I feel for their families, but it is so unfair to put rescuers at risk and put your family through hell, because you wanted "to see what the fourth chamber was like", so crawled into a death hole on purpose.
Rescuers choose to enter and perform the recovery. Since only cave divers can perform this task, police, etc rely on the dive community to determine who, if anyone, is going after the bodies.
I think it's terribly selfish. Some of these dangerous "hobbies" should have a no-rescue clause. Why are innocent people dying to recover your dumbass?! I would feel horrid if someone died trying to get my meatsack out of a stupid place.
My thoughts exactly, diving history has seen countless lives lost or endangered simply trying to recover the bodies of arrogant people that outright ignored warnings because they figured the rules & warnings & science don’t apply to them
As a child in Gainesville, Florida, in the 1970s, I saw newspapers regularly reporting cave diver deaths. I love open water scuba but cave diving is nightmare material.
Same (still in Gainesville) but went the other direction and got certified cave in the 80’s. North Florida is a cave diving Mecca and the beauty of some of these systems is beyond description.
Ok, story time: Some years back, I discovered that there was a dive shop in my town, and decided that I would finally learn to dive once I was done paying off my car, about a year off. That summer Some friends and I were swimming in the south fork of the Yuba river, which was at an ideal height. While swimming upstream and up the little waterfalls between pools I was in a faster flowing section with a spot where water was falling of a rock forming a sort of low head dam. I was unaware of the dangers of that type of spot, and swam towards it hoping to find some handholds to just pull myself up and over with. Two things added up to create a problem. First there was more water moving through that spot that I realized, creating a stronger current in a small area, and second that the flow had dug out all the gravel below. What happened was I was shoved under by a surprising force of the falling water, and at the same time my foot found a gap between some large underwater rocks. My foot went in no problem, but the water continued to push me down, and turn me around, so my foot became stuck in a kind of "twist lock" situation. I found myself on my back with one leg twisted painfully beneath me, and the falling water acting like a large hand pushing down on my chest. I could ALMOST push up against it, but because of the way my leg was twisted I couldn't get any leverage. I had fortunately held a good breath before my head went under, so I wasn't immediately panicked, but quickly realized that I might be in some real trouble. I tried to move to either side to get out from under the flow, but just couldn't do it the way I was pinned. As the panic started to creep up, I made the decision that my best hope might be that if I could break my ankle it might allow me to pull my foot out, and tried yanking and twisting to do just that, but again, I couldn't even get the leverage for it. Finally I just reached my hand up, hoping it would break the water or be visible under fall, and that my GF had been close enough behind me to notice it. I sat there reaching my hand up for approximately 3000 years, when suddenly someone grabbed my hand and pulled. My leg twisted painfully, but my face just broke the surface enough to get a breath. I just shouted "Don't let go!" gripping what was indeed my GF's hand with all I had. She thought I was goofing around, but pulled anyway because, as she later said, "I just wanted a kiss". With her pulling me out from the flow and providing an anchor point I was able to work my foot free from what wasn't even a tight space, just and unfortunately shaped one. After explaining to her that she had literally just saved my life she said it hadn't even occurred to he I was in trouble, as she hadn't seen when I went under and didn't know how long I had been down. After collecting myself and being mostly uninjured (minus a tiny bit of psychological scarring)I swam around in the parts of the pool where the waster was slow moving until I found a couple of the largest rocks I could move to that spot and tossed them in to cover up that hole. I was surprised when I moved over to it and discovered just how deep it was. Had there been no current coming off the fall, I could have just stood there in waist deep water. Hearing the part of the video with the diver pinned by the gravel brought all of that back in Technicolor clarity. The point of all this is that I was just swimming in a calm river, not more than a hundred feet under water in a pitch black cave, and I still almost lost. I love the water, having grown up 20 minutes from the ocean I have always respected, but not feared the sea. I guess I hadn't yet learned proper respect for rivers. I never did go to dive school, though if I did, I know that caves would never be on my list. Even without being a diver my stupid experience taught me a few things, like the importance of a dive buddy (or river buddy), the importance of taking a moment to THINK before doing a thing, and to be aware that confidence is great, but nature (and physics) don't care at all about your confidence. Accidents can, and will happen. The better prepared you are, the more likely you are to get out of a situation when the unexpected happens. Thus ends my 'Older person shouts "Be Careful!"' message.
@@johnnyjericho8472Speak for yourself! Try working on your manners while your at it!🙄 I read the entire post! There’s a valuable lesson to learn from it, unfortunately just like manners you failed to learn it.😑
The narcosis scares me the most, I've been drunk in really dangerous situations where I look back and shudder about what could have happened. Seems like at least half of these stories aren't about rookies getting in too deep, but experts that defy all basic safety precautions, probably due to being absolutely snorkel-faced on gas.
A buddy of mine and I snuck in there, at night, a couple of times for some night dives. We were students at SWSTU in San Marcos (1973-1974). I look back on that and think “What in the hell were we thinking?!” I get the heeby-jeebies just thinking about it. We were happy that we didn’t run across any bodies, or get caught trespassing.
As a recreational diver I firmly believe that we are diving for entertainment and adventure. Its not worth our lives. If it feels wrong dont do it, and follow the damn rules. If you want life risking adventure and diving become a saturation diver or a Navy Diver or something. You risk your life and the lives of those trying to correct your bad judgement.
@@HuckleberryLover What are you talking about? You obviously misread what I said. I said recreational diving is for fun and entertainment and that if a dive feels wrong or dangerous just dont do it. And Im curious, are you a diver? Because the number one rule besides dont hold your breath is dont dive if it doesnt feel righ. And if you notice your partner is nervous or out of sorts you should call the dive as well.
@ Nah the creepiness isn’t even a factor here. It’s the laziness. Can’t find even a single relevant image to include in the video? 50% of it has to be AI filler? That’s a good way to convince me never to follow this channel.
"AI generated images" are, at this point, only the beginning of what's to come, so.... either you catch up with that reality, or remain in a state of forlorn resentment....
"You can't keep us out." That may be true, but the laws of physics can make sure you pay for the entry with your lives. Stockton Rush defied all the experts in his dive in a machine that could not withstand the pressure of what he was doing with it. He said, "Safety is a waste of time." Well, he's not saying that now, is he? The sad part is, neither are the four people who trusted him enough to put their lives in his hands.
As someone who grew up in the area and studied geology, I'd love to talk more about the spring/aquifer. Rather it's a massive limestone structure (Cow Creek limestone), that as the graphic shows, lies underneath another massive limestone structure (Glen Rose Limestone) with a glauconite layer sandwiched between (Hensel, this is the one that likely formed all the gravel in the story) . The top layer contains the Edwards aquifer that feeds all the waterways in the Austin area. But as stated, the second layer is another aquifer that is compressed and creates artesian wells, meaning water comes up out of the ground in springs absolutely everywhere. Both layers have hugely extensive cave structures carved out by the aquifers which also leaves behind many aquatic lakes and rivers inhabited by blind creatures like salamanders, crayfish, catfish, and many more that are localized sometimes to a single spring. There are other species that have only been documented once or twice ever, completely by accident as we drill wells for water. But given that there are thousands of caves in this portion of Texas alone, it's possible these species are thriving right beneath our feet.
That's super cool! I studied biology and would love to see more of these blind cave dwelling critters, the odds of siscovering new species is incredibly high. Would I go and dove for them, though? .... nope. I have both a fear of caves AND diving. 🤣
That's what I'm afraid of. Undiscovered species of who knows what living down there. Add a nuke accident or toxic chemical accident and I won't be surprised if Godzilla crawls out very pissed and looking for puny humans to step on. LOL
Strange. After all that incredibly hard work and ultimately concluding that it would be impossible to recover the bodies... two decades later, a couple of geologists wander down there to map the cave and come out like, "Here, I found a body. Is this what you guys were looking for?"
The most amazing thing to me is how instantly after seeing the two divers back in that Joe knows it’s a body recovery, as do all of the emergency authorities he reaches. In other words, everyone except those two divers knew right away their decision was a deadly one from the start.
@@leahalford5769Correct me if Im wrong but radio waves stop transmitting once you hit a certain point underwater. (Or if underwater at all. Its basically as far as the sun goes I think?) Thats why animals communicate with insanely loud sonar based calls. Submarines use sonar communications when they go deep deep. Not sure if any expertise beyond government funded dives could afford communication like that
Kent and Mark just graduated high school May of 78. Kent was working at Neptune’s Locker dive shop our sophomore year and knew I wanted to learn to dive,so he got me a job there too and I he and I were the shop young kids. We went from PADI open water certs to he worked with one instructor and I worked the other. Kent’s Sister worked at Wood’s Hole institute. Kent spent his summers with his sister at the institute and it was his dream was to do the same. Mark was in our class as well and ended up joining several of us who high school days were going to school and then spent every second we could either helps in class or diving in every body of water we submerge in. We were our own little clique in High school. And all of us who could get out of work where there at the recovery attempt. In many ways I’ll go to my grave blaming myself for them pulling that stunt. I was the one who got the owners of the well to allow divers back in with the promise that there would be no attempts to go through the canal. And up until that trip I was the one who set the safety line on Friday night. That weekend his instructor was running their advanced diving class but it was also the weekend of my birthday and had plans. Both Kent and Mark knew the rules and the reason they were diving that night was to set the line, but since it was the only chance for them to make the attempt to try the canal, and as bullet proof teenagers often do. They ignored the golden rule of diving. “Plan your dive and Divers your plan”. They paid then price of proving that rule. I grew up swimming In Jacob’s Well and cannot even count the times I swam it and dove it. They day I loaded my gear up in my van to go home when the recovery attempt was abandoned I’ve watch my sons swim it and have visited it with all my grandkids but I’ve never been able to enter it since. They were the first friends I and the class of 78 lost. I turned 65 this last September and still think about both of them on that day.
So sorry to hear! I wonder why they made this decision without planning it, especially bc they were trained and experienced divers who knew the risks. I can't seem to wrap my head around this and how they went in without a rope taking such a huge risk on their lives...is it possible they had nitrogen narcosis at this depth?
that terror and fear is part of the allure. I am thalassophobic and claustrophobic so watching this stuff truly terrifies me, but there is also a large part of me that wants to do it, for the same reasons
Don was my duving instructor for the fire department rescue training. He told the story knowing the people listening could handle the graphic parts. I have much respect for those rescue divers and nothing but contempt for the self-centered future Darwin award winners who think their right overrule safety.
Seriously, the removal of the grate is SO egotistical I can hardly wrap my mind around it. I suppose you need level of self-confidence that crosses in to arrogance to even attempt these dives- much like high-altitude mountaineering, free climbing etc. At least those sports are better about regulating "rescues" to within the scope of reality.
@jesusisgodofall6407 You dont have a right to go wherever you want in your country or any other. You dont have a right to enter private property without invitation nor do you have a right to enter secure buildings or military facilities, among many other places I can think. This cave was on private property. If the owner asked the divers to put up a grate, that was within his rights as the owner to do so. Its mindblowing how ignorant some people are
@@AR15andGOD Yeah, this comment is typical of the modern conservative mindset. "I can do whatever I want out of boredom, regardless of how many other lives I put at risk by doing so." It is 100% egotistical and based on a total lack of compassion for innocent people. If you and your friends want to risk death out of boredom, just go into a field and use your second amendment rights to play a couple of rounds of Russian Roulette. It will give the remainder of the group the PTSD and survivor guilt they crave, and it won't endanger the lives of rescue workers trying to recover the body.
Being underwater and having something above your head to keep you from surfacing as you instinctually try to get to the surface to fill your lungs with air only to just get giant lungfuls of water sounds extremely terrifying , anyone that has tried to surface in the swimming pool only to come up under a pool float and having your life flash in front of you thinking you are gonna die for those couple seconds can understand the fear lol
It is far worse, when you shine your light upwards underwater, the exhaust air from scuba will create air pockets that reflect your light like surface does. So you can mistake an old scuba exhaust air collection air bubble for the way to the surface. Air bubbles may run along the roof surface upwards but that is not the way to where you came into that chamber from the entrance. Cave Diving is a very technical skill, which takes the vast discipline of scuba diving and then adds no visibility risks. All you have that yellow string to follow back, if you lose it, you're dead.
Or you're in the ocean and get hit by a wave. You're going up and get hit by an undertow wave. The water feels like a brick wall - you somersault .... Luckily, you get to the top, there are no waves but it's an easy way to die. Former competitive swimmer and in lakes, lifeguard, water is no joke and not to play in. No dunking, no pushing, water is serious.
@@viren_jalkun It doesn't matter where or how you drown. The level of panic is less because you're under a pool toy in a chlorine pool at 3 ft. or in the bathtub? I don't think so. We can Experiment, however -
The "birth canal"? Isn't that the name of a part in the Nutty Putty Cave, Utah? The cave, where John E. Jones died. He stuck upside-down in a dead end part of the cave.
It sure is. It's pretty a common name for dangerously tight restrictions and passages in caving systems. You'd think that it would start to sink in for people that it often signifies a one way trip.
As a Geologist, I knew a colleague who researched volcanism. He was warned not to extract steam samples from an active stratovolcano. Tragically, he was killed by a steam plume and no one could rescue him. At least he died doing what he loved doing. He knew the risks and chose to proceed. Perhaps, same thing could be said about cave diving, mountaineering and high risk sports. By their very nature, environments that are so hostile to human beings are often the most compelling! To paraphrase George Leigh Mallory when asked ‘why Mt. Everest?’ He replied ‘because it is there’. It’s bloody well tragic when participants die in their quest. However, they died doing what they love. People who harshly judge others who don’t assist the dying in extreme environments must be the Monday morning quarterbacks who weren’t there. (my apology, all for the wordiness from this old lady here!) Best wishes, Dr. Lauren
Indeed, to exist is not truly to live. The sad part when you look at the big picture is that those people who harshly judge don't actually live. The fact that they don't understand why someone would put themselves in a dangerous situation doing something they love says they've never found anything in life they would consider dying for. If they've gone their whole life and don't feel that way about something it must be mundane lack any true joy.
My heart goes out to the incredible bravery of rescue divers and climbers. They're like firefighters, to me. The threat isn't just of dying but dying slow and afraid.
Wait, so how was the first body retrieved? You mentioned they found one 10 years later and then a chance encounter led to the other being found 21 years later. Who found the first, and how?
Risking your life to recover a dead body is not only stupid, it likely directly goes against the wishes of your dead friend. No real friend or loved one would ever want you to risk your life recovering their body. If getting my body is even a little bit risky, just leave me.
100%. Not like anyone needs it anymore, least of all me. Best to leave it as food for the fish. Not risking anyone else's lives, and it's going to a good cause!
I knew the basics of this story already, but this is very well told. This really drives home for me how people who take foolish risks are not just putting themselves in danger- They're putting all the rescuers in danger of injury and death also. I'm serious man, you're so good at this- This is an exceptional documentary.
I'm a Floridian. I've spent quite a lot of time in or around water. We moved down here from ATL when I was in 3rd grade. Before we moved down here, 1 of my "adult" cousin's, who was waiting for a notification that he had been accepted into Medical School to become a Dr, went cave diving. He never came home. He was diving with some "friends"; he had decided to go back in....they let him go alone. When his body was recovered, he looked like something had attacked him. We believe that he might have done the damage to himself when he ran out of O2. His acceptance letter to Med School came the day he died. He had been my favorite cousin. We got to spend a lot of time with him the previous year, because my mom had spent more time IN the Hospital than out of it. It was very sad. His dad was a Dr, and, his mom was an RN.
So sorry for your loss. I am confused why you believed he did the damage to himself? Like purposely hurt himself? Do you guys know what may have happened ..was he not trained?
I am slightly claustrophobic I can't imagine going into a space like this. Not only do you drown but you get buried alive and THEN you drown. No freaking way.
For all we know, they never left. Frankly, I don't care if they didn't. Stupid gets what stupid does. I just feel bad for all the rescuers (in any field like this) risking their lives because of other people's choices.
Risking your life to find a person who you know is dead, and where they are, seems really useless to me. Let that be their graves. They died doing what they loved, probably.
I did some regular caving in my teens and 20s. Explored the most popular caves in the TAG area. (Where Tenn, Alabama, Ga meet) I swam in a flooded cave once, and crawled through a riverbed cave with only 6 inches of air at the ceiling. The only reason that the idea of scuba diving in a cave doesn't terrify me, is because I know that I will never do it. I'm glad I'm an old man who's most dangerous activity now is kayaking in daylight on a placid lake with multiple other people around while wearing a life jacket.
I would have liked more content about the geologists 21 years later and how that recovery went, but your storytelling was great up until that ending. 👍🏼
Exactly! I was thinking what. The video abruptly ended. I felt like he wanted to make it longer but just wanted to get the video out quicker. This definitely needs a part two
I didn't know that diving into an aquifer was even possible, but apparently it is. Since aquifers are generally public drinking water supplies and it's really not ok to leave a dead body in water, and because even experienced, qualified cave divers die in these dives, it seems like a deadly and entirely unnecessary gamble for the divers, the body recovery team AND the communities dependent on that water. And all because someone decided to have an incredibly dangerous lark.
I think I read that they tested the water right throughout the ordeal and continuously afterwards. All the results were within normal range. You have to imagine that fish and other animals die or fall in. I had thought of calling the video something like. What youve been swimming in for 21 years. But yeah, not great.
I swam in Lake Superior at Pictured Rock National Park and the water was magnificently clear, so clear I filled a water bottle and was astonished to not see anything in it whatsoever, no sediment, no color at all. I guess because it’s such a cold lake, bacteria can’t grow? I decided to take a risk and take a drink! OMG it was exactly the same as drinking water! I filled my water bottle and drank it all! Then took two more home with me to show my family and friends and challenged them to taste it vs proper bottled water and tell me which is from the lake. They couldn’t tell! And nobody got sick either.
@@Syclone0044 Just because you can’t see or taste contaminants doesn’t mean they’re not present. I wouldn’t drink any wild water that I hadn’t peeked at under high power microscope or just boiled to be on the safe side.
Don Dibble taught me how to dive and got me my PADI card in 1978 while a grad student at SWTSU. Don is the consummate professional and taught me to be a safe diver.
I went through Don's Instructor course in 1999 and became a NAUI instructor. He had one of those divers tanks on display in his shop. I remember when he told us the story of that day he went in to try and rescue those individuals. It's amazing he survived the attempt given the injuries he sustained during the attempt.
I am a 53 year young scubadiver from the Caribbean Since I was 9 I started diving and working at a diveshop after school. Theres one thing I cannot understand why people cavedive. I will NEVER cavedive . I have claustphobia, and know my limits. Why people willingly put themselves in these situations known to have claimed so many lifes is beyond me. Imo there must be something wrong with you .No amount of training or expertise can prevent sudden disaster.
I can't understand sky diving. Don't jump outta the plane. Thrill adrenaline junkies. I've had my share. Juggling meat cleavers and fire sticks was pretty thrilling. The cleavers had safety covers on them, but there's always something that could go wrong.
Its blurred, poorly, so he wouldnt be outed as using AI to create his content for him. 6 fingers and a thumb back there somewhere from my count. I hate and unsub AI channels, too bad because I liked this one. 6:03
Yes so I was wondering were people able to go into the 4th cave after this or they just were annoyed and broke that cement barrier. And never went into it.
That's not a good thing. The person is dead and their body is doing no harm where it's at. It's not the person, it's a husk. If it were possible to ask the deceased it's very likely that they would be against anyone risking their lives to recover it. Turning one tragedy into two for no reason other than religion or superstition is ridiculous.
@@trivialtrav You're absolutely right. Comparision comes to my mind. Living human is like a treasure chest full of goodies. But when one dies, the chest is emptied. There's nothing inside. Empty treasure chest is hardly worth pursuing.
@@bzipoliit's nothing to do with cowardice it's logic and common sense bud. Once someone dies their body is just a hunk of decomposing flesh. What exactly are you saving when you recover a dead body?
@@sclarin2 the main reason that they recover the bodies of divers is that as they rot they become a bio-hazard to the environment that they are in (that's why we don't leave dead bodies in our house etc.) also their family might like them back so they have some closure about their death.
Cave diving especially gives me anxiety just watching those crawl through the passages I find the end of the video fascinating because it describes the human psyche very well As soon as you ban something, it automatically becomes interesting Reverse psychology
@@stedydubdetroit like yeah its a bit hars but its a cave that is full of water, its just such a uninviting location that is essentially blocked off so no one would go there... yet some still just want to and oh boy they absolutely will
Thank you for highlighting how much extra risk the recovery attempt creates. Of course, accidents can happen even in "regular", safer conditions, and some folks who do cave diving explictly request their bodies to NOT be recovered to avoid this specific issue. But sadly many folks die by attempting dives or cave explorations beyond their skill level and being confident they will have no issue, and then someone has to risk everything trying to recover the bodies.
Maybe someone should consider using remote control drones with manipulator arms? Like what they use to explore things like the titanic, or other deep wrecks?
The ones small enough to fit only recently went into production but then small also means they don't have the power to dig into a hole like that. So yes and no.
The ROVs they use to find wrecks have a cable that tethers them to a surface ship, and unfortunately they don't do well in enclosed spaces... that cable can easily get snagged & the ROV can't free itself, and they are _way_ too expensive to risk losing. Caves are also bad news for anything remote controlled as the signal won't travel through rock & you get lots of reflection/echo off every surface.
It wasn't a problem of depth or time, it was a problem of access. The later team had an umbilicus and recomp chamber, they could spend all day down there if they wanted to. The problem was all of the gravel blocking the chamber, and no robot would be able to get through that, even if they existed back then.
@@waterlinestoriesyeah. and those flexible body drones are being developed for extreme enviroments just like these. might be a while until operational tho
And never ever go through narrow descending spaces where you could get stuck head-first. Getting stuck head pointed downslope is a death sentence in itself even if nothing else happens. Just that position and the body being wedged will kill you - even if you have drinking water, are not hypothermic, and there are no other risks. Being underwater doesn’t help obviously.
My prayers for the family that lost their loved ones and my prayers to bless those that risked their lives and gave their time and money to retrieve these boys. Bless the diving community and the rescue teams. God bless and protect you.
Your video was in a recommended videos Jermaine clicked on it and I'm actually really impressed you did your homework, and the way you're narrating the story not rushing it you taking the time and showing at the respect that it deserves thank you sir
Even if I was offered 1 million dollars I would not enter that cave. These stories are my biggest fear. Also people involved in rescue operations should be exempt from medical costs. Damn that sucks!
This is so fascinating and terrifying. I really appreciate your channel. "Diving into the Unknown" is one of my favorite documentaries. All the science of free diving is incredible, too. Fighting your biological processes and the mammalian urge for oxygen? It absolutely amazes me. Stay safe.
this might be a dumb question but why are the rescue divers putting their lives at risk to recover a body? I mean, those divers are already dead, recovering their bodies seems like an unnecessary risk.
They volunteered for it and I suppose they know the risks that are involved with the recovery. However, risking their lives for free without their dive insurance and hospitalization benefits just so that they can recover the body of a person who willingly went in there seems unfair. People have died or gotten injured trying to recover/ save divers who made questionable decisions.
Horseshoers have this thing about everything being a numbers game. Drive enough nails, you get a few bad ones. So don't bank on you being the only person to never drive a bad one, bank on never hanging everything on a single nail. I've definitely done dumb stuff hedging on things going magically different cause it's me, but I never bet the farm.
I have recovered bodies in blackwater before. I've also started in to cave diving. There comes a point where it's no longer a rescue, and it's not worth a diver's life.
I think the helpful part of this for people reading this who don't dive and want to, or are qualified in Open water and "thinking" about cave diving: Ensure your CAVE CERTIFIED. Any other dive certificate does not make you cave certified. I don't know if these 2 were cave certified or how many tanks of the correct mixture of gases they had on. !!!~Yes expert Cave Divers have died~!!!. You should NEVER ever take your gear off and/or go in backward thru a small opening. Doesn't matter if you see others doing it. Taking any gear off increases your chances of something going wrong. **Taking gear off should be left to the Divers who are qualified cave Mappers which is altogether different than Recreational cave diving.
If they only had one flashlight each and no line, then no, those chuckleheads were absolutely not cave certified. Probably just basic open water, if that.
I learned to dive at Don Brod's dive center on Lake Travis back in the the early 80's. As an assistant instructor I spent several summers there there as well. Don was a fascinating guy. A little surly but cool nonetheless.
I feel like some of these cave divers that strive for absolute danger, are literally dancing with death, and they know it. It's a waltz of veritable insanity, in my honest opinion. I have always been fascinated by the psychology of such cave divers, as there are numerous stories of things going very bad, very quickly. It's good that the bodies were indeed eventually discovered - but another part of me gets a bit annoyed thinking about the decisions some of these people make; what is to gain, versus what is to lose? Anyone else feel similarly on such matters? I guess I should consider myself lucky to not have ever had such an intense desire for an apparent adrenaline rush. A desire so immensely powerful, that I need to put my life in peril (and possibly rescuer's lives) just for a rush and the ability to say "I did that."
That’s exactly the allure. They want to get to the edge and come back to say, I survived! The problem is not knowing where the edge is but still believing you do.
@@waterlinestories Yes, I must say I agree with this assessment of the psychological reasons for such acts. And I don't really condemn anyone for living such a lifestyle - It's just in stories like the one above, that you realize how many people are in that ripple-effect, when things do go past the edge. The family, friends, other divers, etc. But the one thing we can take from these occurrences is establishing a strong foundation of a sense of reality for ourselves, when doing potentially life-threatening feats. See, I used to do a lot of prospecting in Colorado, USA. The terrain was insane and required a lot of skill to get to the raw topaz we were in search of. (A lot of rappelling, free-climbing, bouldering) I'll try and abridge this as much as possible: But once we took a highly dangerous route to go to an unseen area for us. Foreboding rocks that had to be traversed carefully, very limited routes to get to the designated area, etc. (the fall would have been one in which you would wish to die from, even if you did survive.) We get to the spot and this storm just rustles up out of nowhere. Moving fast, with lightning and thunder - Now, we are drenched in rain and both my mining partner and I knew, we had to back-track; and fast! So going up was easier, now we are going down and the rocks are soaked in rain. Didn't bring our climbing rope either, because we were idiots that day and just felt so confident. "We got this man. Mind over matter, right?" (Of course we did not anticipate this storm to move over so fast either. Kind of a freak storm, that wasn't even predicted on radar prior to our planning that day out.) Anyways - I will Never forget hanging on to the side of that cliff, shaking and getting pumped to make the last maneuver. One that would get me to a comfortable situation for the rest of the traversal back down. I had to reach across a gap, and pray to whatever god that is listening for it to go well. I would have tumbled hundreds of feet, into pulp, had I fallen. It was a true leap of faith, as I had to throw my body weight over the gap, grab a hold of this rock and hope my foot didn't slip. My friend has already done it, and he's shaken up from it. I remember he was just gleaming at me, eyes-wide, whispering: "Come on man, you gotta do it. It's our only way down and after this we are set" We made it down and ran down the less rocky section of this mountain to the car. But we both learned a valuable lesson that day: We stepped over the edge and just happened to be lucky enough to survive. That time. And I never put myself in a life-threatening situation like that again. The feeling that you are having to make a 50/50 shot; "Do I die today, or will I live through this?" all from an actually avoidable situation was something I'll never forget. It's something I am thankful for; The whole event, I mean. Perhaps a wake-up call from the heavens. So I can understand how we can get into these situations, where we've just gone too far. And that's why the suspense of these diving videos you share are just on a whole other level for me. Because you are out of your element, so to speak, to begin with. And I dunno if it's really true, but I've heard that we currently know more about space than the actual depths of Earth's oceans currently. Which, if true, is a testament for their inhospitable nature for most non-aquatic species.
@@pleaseunshadowbanme I think in a lot of cases, that is certainly the case. It's why part of me gets a bit frustrated to see someone risk their lives to such a degree, for that rush; When they've got so many people that would be absolutely devastated if they did in fact perish. But I shared a story, somewhat similar, from my youth that you can see if you want. It's a reply to Waterline Stories from the original comment I made here. Because I was thinking about it, and then I remembered a time in which a mining partner and I did something in which we could have died from. All from just wanting to push the limits, I suppose. So even I have done something life threatening. But I did not continue such endeavors in the least. And I think some of the people we are really thinking of in such a discussion, are those who cheat death and go back in for another round.
It reminds of of the free form rock climbers or base jumpers. There was one kid who was a free form climber who wore a parachute and would climb way high up so if he fell he could parachute down. He ended up dying in a wing suit accident with his dog on his back his partner he flew with crashed then he flinched and crashed himself, he was pretty famous in the climbing world for climbing and wing suiting with his dog. His girlfriend said she heard the smack but still went to the meetup point with hopes she was wrong about what she heard.
I'm a 35-year PADI instructor and rescue diver, scared sh*tless of cave diving. I did all the speciality trainings so that I could assist with medical rescues at the entrance only. Call me chickensh*t if you must but since I live to dive I have not and will not ever descend into an underwater cave.
This was fascinating to me. My love for life would never let me: cave dive, street drag race, jump from a plane, or bungee jump. I can enjoy each of those on RUclips I'll call myself "professional spectator enthusiast." Thanks for the great presentation.
A friend and I took a dive in an old mine in Cornwall in the 80s, he was experienced I wasn’t. I’m so glad he chose not to go too far as it was pitch black and could’ve gone badly wrong. Scary now not then. Thanks mate
Another great documentary. Thank you. However fascinating, the content is the stuff of nightmares. I'm sure this will give me a sleepless night tonight!
Really good. A horrifying scenario well told. Just goes to show that it doesn’t have to be overly _stylistic_ or a copy of someone else’s successful format. The content stands on it’s own merit. Good job.
Just found this channel, but love it! I appreciate there isn't a bunch of migraine inducing screen flickers, and a focus on the story not promoting your products for the first 10 minutes.
Terrific story teller! Consider the story of how many dozens of people died jumping off Hamilton Pool water fall also in Hays County. The ambulances had to make several trips there every single weekend. I should know - I was transported by one of them!
I can't remember the last time I was working on a car, stuck my hand in somewhere tight and thought to myself "I sure wish I was doing this with my whole body."
I’m 54, but was, I’d consider, an advanced novice in scuba, climbing, ww kayaking, skiing, etc, in my 20s & 30s. Generally, I played it safe and smart. But the one and only time I panicked was during a dive, and came within 5sec or so of drowning. I made a lucky move in my panic. What wakes me up upset is how quickly a mistake could be fatal. That experience changed me, and the things I used to thrive on hold little interest for me. Just like that, fun no longer.
I was born and raised in Austin Texas. I remember hearing about these deaths and several others over the years. I know you said there was no record of a diver that had the bends but I remember reading his name in the newspaper when this happened. Also, I need to correct one thing you said which is you said the water flows from the Trinity aquifer. This is incorrect, it flows from the Edwards Aquifer. The Trinity aquifer is farther north in Texas. I really enjoy following your stories. They are quite informative
At this point i would have just gone with "so you removed the crate and left a note you cant stop us... well i cant, but this explosive charge collapsing the birthing canal can..."
I'm kind of surprised there isn't a submarine drone for assessing these sorts of situations instead of sending divers down. At the very least you could get into smaller spaces and collect more data without risking anyone
There was barely enough room for the divers to squeeze through those caves. It was a modern day miracle that they saved the kids. Elon’s sub would never have fit through the caves.
Anyone else realize some geologist outperformed every pro that tried it? The geologists had no problem getting thru the birth canal. If you need a good diver get a professional diver, if you need the best divers get some egg head geologists. They will do it better, safer, quicker, and cheaper all while diving the spring is just something they do in order to do their actual work.
Thanks for watching.
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Dude the way you create, present, and narrate your videos, it’s all just so incredibly well done.
I’m a skipper, spent many years at sea, and being totally honest, I admire the what you do, and I can not fault anything, at all, within the content you create.
I’d really like to chat with you sometime, if at all possible please.
Great work, well done.
I’d love that. My email is paul@waterlinestories.com hit me up.
The ending of the video was abrupt and confusing. At the beginning it is said that one body was recovered ten years later and the other nearly 21 years later but by the end of the video it is said that 20 years later Kent's remains were found. Nothing about Mark . Any way you can clarify this in the description box?
@@waterlinestories CC the guy above
"The ending of the video was abrupt and confusing. At the beginning it is said that one body was recovered ten years later and the other nearly 21 years later but by the end of the video it is said that 20 years later Kent's remains were found. Nothing about Mark . Any way you can clarify this in the description box?"
I agree, also the lack of footage on the recovered bodies and where they were found is another intriguing detail missing. Did Kent and Mark get stuck? Buried alive? Stick in the passage on the opposite side of Chamber 4? This video leaves more questions than answers.
Both bodies were eventually recovered. Brashier's remains washed out of the well during a 1981 flood, while Maupins bones were recovered in the year 2000 after researchers accidentally found him in chamber 4, they said “i first noticed one femur bone, then a second…”….even then the team could NOT get Maupins bones until 2 further separate dive attempts were made.
Thank you for filling us in! I really wanted to know how the bodies were found!
So the cave is a lot more accessible now?
Is that because of the gravel moving or advancements in tech?
@teatowel11 Aapparently the opening of the fourth chamber back in the 1970s was just 45cm tall ish. In the present day it is now between 60cm to 90cm tall, so I’d say some kind of natural change has occurred over time rather than any technology changes. They would definitely have had better technology in the year 2000 when they were mapping, but it wasn’t that technology that helped them stumble across the bones, just pure luck.
@@llxxblondiexxll Could be chemical erosion from the flow of water wearing away the roof of the passage, or the flood you mentioned shifting large amounts of gravel out of the way. Thanks for the more in-depth update on how they were found!
I can't think why this could be a bad idea.
All I need to know about cave diving is don’t go cave diving
I've been once, but in fairly large, open caves in SA. Places like the cave in the video, those scare me. You couldn't pay me all the money in the world to dive places like that
Call me a wuss but I never lost anything atop a mountain peak, nor in a cave (above or below water).
you passed with an A in cave diving lol
Totally agreed!!!
I went cave diving. As soon as I was in the entrance I could see the exit. It was a giant hole is the coral reef. Shout out Christmas Tree Reef off Florida. Fuck caves
If you go up Mt. Everest there’s an unwritten rule that no-one will risk themselves dragging your carcass off the mountain. Cave divers need to do the same.
Tell me you have no friends without telling me you have no friends.
Mission accomplished.
And as you know there are many bodies on the trail to the summit of Everest. Some have even become landmarks to watch for as a climber makes his way to the top.
@@kenherrera2819 most famous being “Green Boots”
@@davidpawson7393what kind of psycho wants their friends to risk their lives to take possession of something no one needs?
@@davidpawson7393 he ain't wrong though
If caving wasn’t insane enough, doing it while underwater has to be a new level of insanity. Absolutely no for me.
Nope nope nopity nope
Also names like the 'birth canal' doesn't fill one with confidence. I've been through one birth canal in my life and if I had any comprehensive intelligence at that stage, I probably would've stayed where I was🤔😂
one of those... "couldn't pay me enough money to.."
I dive professionally as a biologist. I’ve dove in pitch black rivers, under ice, under dams, and in currents that will wash you downstream with one mistake. Really risky dives, very dangerous. I would NEVER go into a cave. I’ve had to hold onto boulders while a barge passes over me, climbed through tress in 50ft of water, moved snapping turtles in alligator infested swamps. Never a cave, ever.
That’s actually wise
those other things are also insane.
Really cool. Thanks for sharing!
What is a tress?
@@BarcelonaMariaMafiaI think he’s talking about thick seaweed.
My dad is a level 4 dive master. With over 3000 dives logged. He was a commercial diver for 10 years. We go fishing and we have been in the worst kinds of weather (I'm talking 7 meter waves once in a 6 foot seafarer). he grew up around the water so nothing much fazes him. He's had nitrogen narcosis plenty of times and due to he's high drug tolerance he can handle it pretty well. I asked him the other day if he was ever interested in cave diving. He said "as competent as I am a diver im not interested in that". I asked why? He said "it's too easy to get stuck or disoriented due to being silted out where you can't see anything plenty of things can go wrong". I asked "does it scare you" he said "oh yeah"
Yeah I must admit it scares me too but I’m also quite intrigued.
I’m not a fan of closed in spaces. Not full blown claustrophobia, but you’re not going to find me crawling around a tight passage in a dry cave. Forget underwater.
Now I’ll take a ROV and do it. But forget diving.
Ironically, if I could, I’d have no problem diving a shipwreck on the Great Lakes or something. Just a big no for caves
I'm probably in the same scale as you. I Prefer wrecks but I'm intrigued by caves although I've avoided my entire life. I would like to do some of the safer cave dives. All relative I guess.
During our advanced open water class we were going through emergency protocols and such. We had a discussion about lots of survival rate statistics. Our dive master said, "Do you want to come back alive? Then never go cave diving." That always stuck with me though it does look cool haha
As a CCR cave diver, I can definitely say that training, and following your training, is critical. I’ve been in silt-outs. There is specific training as to how you navigate them (never let go of your line, tap diver in front of you if team diving, turn your light inward, etc). The biggest problem with silt-outs if you know what you are doing is that they can slow you down, which messes with deco time/gas supply.
Its bizarre how impotently watching your friends make poor decisions that you physically cannot talk them out of, then having to write them off as dead because you can't wait around for them to come back anymore without running out of air and dying yourself is something you just have to deal with in diving.
Well certain types of diving yes. Cave diving like this when it's poorly planned.
Recreational divers don’t face these situations, and most technical/cave divers don’t either.
There’s a reason these deaths make the news; they happen very infrequently.
Diving underwater is such an unnatural environment. With breathing being so crucial for humans to remain alive, diving is not for the faint of heart.
Just as it is with aviation pilots, their is no room for mistakes.
Yup. That's why you have a dive master involved with a safe dive. Without a dive master there a very good chance that an accident could happen. Gotta have a plan set and then FOLLOW said plan as set forward by the dives master.😐
so there was funding to recover the bodies but no funding for the hospital bill for the person who risked his life to assist in finding the bodies... what a world we are in today
Usually divers have insurance to cover these things. As a dive professional he should have had his insurance in place before going in the water.
They did
This guy’s insurance LAPSED (Not yelling- emphasizing ). A site that is maintained publicly (vs. privately) will not let divers down without the right certifications and insurance.
The community took care of it. Individuals who live in the same place privately got together and paid the bill. No government required!
@@sid2112
Thats how it should be.
2:10 Just watching people go through that gap gives me anxiety. I'm a structural ironworker. I'll walk along steel multiple stories in the air all day long, but tight spaces like that, solid nope.
Cave Diving is the epitomy of that one Jeff Goldblum quote: "We were so focused on trying to find out whether we could, we never stopped to ask ourselves if we should."
Id rarher face a dino than put on scuba gear, let alone going diving in a cave 😬😬😬😬😬😬😬
“Jeff goldblum quote” lmao
The diver that put that death sign in its place is a legend. Did it right.
The reaper on that sign is not stopping you
He is signing you to go in
Bone chilling
@@catalintimofti1117 damn ive never noticed that. Thats wild
Isnt that from another dive site? Swear Ive seen it before.
@@herpderp3131I believe it is a standard sign design
@@catalintimofti1117 Bing chilling
I feel for their families, but it is so unfair to put rescuers at risk and put your family through hell, because you wanted "to see what the fourth chamber was like", so crawled into a death hole on purpose.
Yes, I think they were completely unprepared for that dive.
Rescuers choose to enter and perform the recovery. Since only cave divers can perform this task, police, etc rely on the dive community to determine who, if anyone, is going after the bodies.
@@Arieskie Doesn't make it a good idea.
I think it's terribly selfish. Some of these dangerous "hobbies" should have a no-rescue clause. Why are innocent people dying to recover your dumbass?! I would feel horrid if someone died trying to get my meatsack out of a stupid place.
My thoughts exactly, diving history has seen countless lives lost or endangered simply trying to recover the bodies of arrogant people that outright ignored warnings because they figured the rules & warnings & science don’t apply to them
As a child in Gainesville, Florida, in the 1970s, I saw newspapers regularly reporting cave diver deaths. I love open water scuba but cave diving is nightmare material.
Every single cave diver who got stuck wished they had never cave dived at that critical moment I would wager.
Ever since I saw the movie the descent I've not wanted to go spelunking lol in or out of water!!
Same (still in Gainesville) but went the other direction and got certified cave in the 80’s. North Florida is a cave diving Mecca and the beauty of some of these systems is beyond description.
Ai clips are kind of distracting 😓
AI art cringe
When I noticed the hand censored I thought something was going on lmao
I despise it
I agree. Every time I saw an AI image I felt grossed out and considered clicking away. AI images have no place in real-life documentaton style videos.
I only noticed the Ai pictures
Ok, story time: Some years back, I discovered that there was a dive shop in my town, and decided that I would finally learn to dive once I was done paying off my car, about a year off. That summer Some friends and I were swimming in the south fork of the Yuba river, which was at an ideal height. While swimming upstream and up the little waterfalls between pools I was in a faster flowing section with a spot where water was falling of a rock forming a sort of low head dam. I was unaware of the dangers of that type of spot, and swam towards it hoping to find some handholds to just pull myself up and over with. Two things added up to create a problem. First there was more water moving through that spot that I realized, creating a stronger current in a small area, and second that the flow had dug out all the gravel below. What happened was I was shoved under by a surprising force of the falling water, and at the same time my foot found a gap between some large underwater rocks. My foot went in no problem, but the water continued to push me down, and turn me around, so my foot became stuck in a kind of "twist lock" situation. I found myself on my back with one leg twisted painfully beneath me, and the falling water acting like a large hand pushing down on my chest. I could ALMOST push up against it, but because of the way my leg was twisted I couldn't get any leverage. I had fortunately held a good breath before my head went under, so I wasn't immediately panicked, but quickly realized that I might be in some real trouble. I tried to move to either side to get out from under the flow, but just couldn't do it the way I was pinned. As the panic started to creep up, I made the decision that my best hope might be that if I could break my ankle it might allow me to pull my foot out, and tried yanking and twisting to do just that, but again, I couldn't even get the leverage for it. Finally I just reached my hand up, hoping it would break the water or be visible under fall, and that my GF had been close enough behind me to notice it. I sat there reaching my hand up for approximately 3000 years, when suddenly someone grabbed my hand and pulled. My leg twisted painfully, but my face just broke the surface enough to get a breath. I just shouted "Don't let go!" gripping what was indeed my GF's hand with all I had. She thought I was goofing around, but pulled anyway because, as she later said, "I just wanted a kiss". With her pulling me out from the flow and providing an anchor point I was able to work my foot free from what wasn't even a tight space, just and unfortunately shaped one. After explaining to her that she had literally just saved my life she said it hadn't even occurred to he I was in trouble, as she hadn't seen when I went under and didn't know how long I had been down. After collecting myself and being mostly uninjured (minus a tiny bit of psychological scarring)I swam around in the parts of the pool where the waster was slow moving until I found a couple of the largest rocks I could move to that spot and tossed them in to cover up that hole. I was surprised when I moved over to it and discovered just how deep it was. Had there been no current coming off the fall, I could have just stood there in waist deep water. Hearing the part of the video with the diver pinned by the gravel brought all of that back in Technicolor clarity. The point of all this is that I was just swimming in a calm river, not more than a hundred feet under water in a pitch black cave, and I still almost lost.
I love the water, having grown up 20 minutes from the ocean I have always respected, but not feared the sea. I guess I hadn't yet learned proper respect for rivers. I never did go to dive school, though if I did, I know that caves would never be on my list. Even without being a diver my stupid experience taught me a few things, like the importance of a dive buddy (or river buddy), the importance of taking a moment to THINK before doing a thing, and to be aware that confidence is great, but nature (and physics) don't care at all about your confidence. Accidents can, and will happen. The better prepared you are, the more likely you are to get out of a situation when the unexpected happens. Thus ends my 'Older person shouts "Be Careful!"' message.
@@johnnyjericho8472Speak for yourself! Try working on your manners while your at it!🙄
I read the entire post! There’s a valuable lesson to learn from it, unfortunately just like manners you failed to learn it.😑
@@johnnyjericho8472 More fool you. You might have learnt something that could save your life.
@@johnnyjericho8472, some smart people even read books and articles.
I speak for the rest of the world. I read it. If too long why even comment? This story was very interesting
@@AZ-su1zg, because putting down people feels like stealing candy from a kid. It makes you feel powerful.
The narcosis scares me the most, I've been drunk in really dangerous situations where I look back and shudder about what could have happened. Seems like at least half of these stories aren't about rookies getting in too deep, but experts that defy all basic safety precautions, probably due to being absolutely snorkel-faced on gas.
Definitely plays a part
Nitrogen Narcosis gives you an extremely false sense of Courage and should be an immediate red flag in any stressful situation.
@@stevedittman4536 True but like alcohol, the first tingles are barely perceptible and then they mask the next level of recognition and so it spirals.
@@stevedittman4536 Catch-22
@Brian, "I've been drunk in really dangerous situations " Would that be divorce court? LOL
A buddy of mine and I snuck in there, at night, a couple of times for some night dives. We were students at SWSTU in San Marcos (1973-1974). I look back on that and think “What in the hell were we thinking?!”
I get the heeby-jeebies just thinking about it. We were happy that we didn’t run across any bodies, or get caught trespassing.
Wow yeah thats inner for the books.
I think we've all got some stupid things we've done when we were young.
Tell us more how it went
@@marlonsmith713 well it was wet.
@@waterlinestories why do you feel the need to blur the fact that you use AI generated images?
I kept grind asked about the six fingers. Now I get asked about the blur 🤣
As a recreational diver I firmly believe that we are diving for entertainment and adventure. Its not worth our lives. If it feels wrong dont do it, and follow the damn rules. If you want life risking adventure and diving become a saturation diver or a Navy Diver or something. You risk your life and the lives of those trying to correct your bad judgement.
I'm not trying to be confrontational but what are you diving for then as a recreational diver except for recreation, or in other words entertainment?
It feels bad enough watching it.
@@HuckleberryLoveradrenaline junkies have no reasoning
@@HuckleberryLover What are you talking about? You obviously misread what I said. I said recreational diving is for fun and entertainment and that if a dive feels wrong or dangerous just dont do it. And Im curious, are you a diver? Because the number one rule besides dont hold your breath is dont dive if it doesnt feel righ. And if you notice your partner is nervous or out of sorts you should call the dive as well.
@@MrDiveDave I definitely misread your comment as "we aren't diving for entertainment or adventure." Sorry about that. Have a good one.
For the love of God, stop including AI-generated pictures in any video
Agreed, it's uncanny valley. This is already a creepy video. It doesn't need to be more creepy.
@ Nah the creepiness isn’t even a factor here. It’s the laziness. Can’t find even a single relevant image to include in the video? 50% of it has to be AI filler? That’s a good way to convince me never to follow this channel.
Agreed, I found it jarring to the story because the images didn't really match up with the real photos and it was odd.
Lazy editing.. That's what AI is used for
"AI generated images" are, at this point, only the beginning of what's to come, so.... either you catch up with that reality, or remain in a state of forlorn resentment....
"You can't keep us out."
That may be true, but the laws of physics can make sure you pay for the entry with your lives.
Stockton Rush defied all the experts in his dive in a machine that could not withstand the pressure of what he was doing with it.
He said, "Safety is a waste of time."
Well, he's not saying that now, is he? The sad part is, neither are the four people who trusted him enough to put their lives in his hands.
The correct response to "you can't keep us out" is "You can't get out"
Well ignoring safety allowed him to die as quickly as possible so it did save him time on that
As someone who grew up in the area and studied geology, I'd love to talk more about the spring/aquifer. Rather it's a massive limestone structure (Cow Creek limestone), that as the graphic shows, lies underneath another massive limestone structure (Glen Rose Limestone) with a glauconite layer sandwiched between (Hensel, this is the one that likely formed all the gravel in the story) . The top layer contains the Edwards aquifer that feeds all the waterways in the Austin area. But as stated, the second layer is another aquifer that is compressed and creates artesian wells, meaning water comes up out of the ground in springs absolutely everywhere. Both layers have hugely extensive cave structures carved out by the aquifers which also leaves behind many aquatic lakes and rivers inhabited by blind creatures like salamanders, crayfish, catfish, and many more that are localized sometimes to a single spring. There are other species that have only been documented once or twice ever, completely by accident as we drill wells for water. But given that there are thousands of caves in this portion of Texas alone, it's possible these species are thriving right beneath our feet.
That's super cool! I studied biology and would love to see more of these blind cave dwelling critters, the odds of siscovering new species is incredibly high. Would I go and dove for them, though? .... nope. I have both a fear of caves AND diving. 🤣
@@jocm99 you're quite proud of your ignorance, aren't you?
Interesting info, thanks for the additional context 👍
That's what I'm afraid of. Undiscovered species of who knows what living down there. Add a nuke accident or toxic chemical accident and I won't be surprised if Godzilla crawls out very pissed and looking for puny humans to step on. LOL
Thank you so much!
Strange. After all that incredibly hard work and ultimately concluding that it would be impossible to recover the bodies... two decades later, a couple of geologists wander down there to map the cave and come out like, "Here, I found a body. Is this what you guys were looking for?"
And they weren't even trying...
Geologists, man. Nothing stops them, not even a dead body
@@waterlinestories I want to know that story! Was it because there was less flow?
I imagine the gravel shifted and the bodies floated up when the water table rose and the well started flowing again.
I imagine because of the fire of water that the rock and sediment are constantly shifting. Just worked it's way out.
The most amazing thing to me is how instantly after seeing the two divers back in that Joe knows it’s a body recovery, as do all of the emergency authorities he reaches. In other words, everyone except those two divers knew right away their decision was a deadly one from the start.
God imagine if there's radios or something thad be nice
@@leahalford5769 I duno if you can use a radio underwater
@@FleetAdmirable well I've seen footage of search and rescues talking to each other but maybe that's different
@@leahalford5769 I doubt you can talk so much under water with a tube in your mouth.
@@leahalford5769Correct me if Im wrong but radio waves stop transmitting once you hit a certain point underwater. (Or if underwater at all. Its basically as far as the sun goes I think?) Thats why animals communicate with insanely loud sonar based calls. Submarines use sonar communications when they go deep deep. Not sure if any expertise beyond government funded dives could afford communication like that
I’m so claustrophobic, even thinking about having to try and wiggle my way through an underwater tunnel like that, is absolutely horrifying.
Kent and Mark just graduated high school May of 78. Kent was working at Neptune’s Locker dive shop our sophomore year and knew I wanted to learn to dive,so he got me a job there too and I he and I were the shop young kids. We went from PADI open water certs to he worked with one instructor and I worked the other. Kent’s Sister worked at Wood’s Hole institute. Kent spent his summers with his sister at the institute and it was his dream was to do the same.
Mark was in our class as well and ended up joining several of us who high school days were going to school and then spent every second we could either helps in class or diving in every body of water we submerge in. We were our own little clique in High school. And all of us who could get out of work where there at the recovery attempt.
In many ways I’ll go to my grave blaming myself for them pulling that stunt. I was the one who got the owners of the well to allow divers back in with the promise that there would be no attempts to go through the canal. And up until that trip I was the one who set the safety line on Friday night. That weekend his instructor was running their advanced diving class but it was also the weekend of my birthday and had plans. Both Kent and Mark knew the rules and the reason they were diving that night was to set the line, but since it was the only chance for them to make the attempt to try the canal, and as bullet proof teenagers often do. They ignored the golden rule of diving. “Plan your dive and Divers your plan”. They paid then price of proving that rule.
I grew up swimming In Jacob’s Well and cannot even count the times I swam it and dove it. They day I loaded my gear up in my van to go home when the recovery attempt was abandoned I’ve watch my sons swim it and have visited it with all my grandkids but I’ve never been able to enter it since. They were the first friends I and the class of 78 lost.
I turned 65 this last September and still think about both of them on that day.
So sorry to hear! I wonder why they made this decision without planning it, especially bc they were trained and experienced divers who knew the risks. I can't seem to wrap my head around this and how they went in without a rope taking such a huge risk on their lives...is it possible they had nitrogen narcosis at this depth?
I'll never understand what motivates someone to put themselves in such a nightmarish situation. These people are bonkers!
Nowadays they call these people “Joe Biden voters”
Agreed
Damn adrenaline junkies man.
Regular caves are dangerous enough but underwater caves?? Forget about it!
that terror and fear is part of the allure. I am thalassophobic and claustrophobic so watching this stuff truly terrifies me, but there is also a large part of me that wants to do it, for the same reasons
Don was my duving instructor for the fire department rescue training. He told the story knowing the people listening could handle the graphic parts. I have much respect for those rescue divers and nothing but contempt for the self-centered future Darwin award winners who think their right overrule safety.
Seriously, the removal of the grate is SO egotistical I can hardly wrap my mind around it.
I suppose you need level of self-confidence that crosses in to arrogance to even attempt these dives- much like high-altitude mountaineering, free climbing etc.
At least those sports are better about regulating "rescues" to within the scope of reality.
@@1TUFZ71 it isn't egotistical at all, people have the right to go where they please in their own country regardless of the risk.
there is no right to safety.
@jesusisgodofall6407
You dont have a right to go wherever you want in your country or any other. You dont have a right to enter private property without invitation nor do you have a right to enter secure buildings or military facilities, among many other places I can think. This cave was on private property. If the owner asked the divers to put up a grate, that was within his rights as the owner to do so.
Its mindblowing how ignorant some people are
@@AR15andGOD Yeah, this comment is typical of the modern conservative mindset. "I can do whatever I want out of boredom, regardless of how many other lives I put at risk by doing so." It is 100% egotistical and based on a total lack of compassion for innocent people. If you and your friends want to risk death out of boredom, just go into a field and use your second amendment rights to play a couple of rounds of Russian Roulette. It will give the remainder of the group the PTSD and survivor guilt they crave, and it won't endanger the lives of rescue workers trying to recover the body.
Being underwater and having something above your head to keep you from surfacing as you instinctually try to get to the surface to fill your lungs with air only to just get giant lungfuls of water sounds extremely terrifying , anyone that has tried to surface in the swimming pool only to come up under a pool float and having your life flash in front of you thinking you are gonna die for those couple seconds can understand the fear lol
It is far worse, when you shine your light upwards underwater, the exhaust air from scuba will create air pockets that reflect your light like surface does. So you can mistake an old scuba exhaust air collection air bubble for the way to the surface. Air bubbles may run along the roof surface upwards but that is not the way to where you came into that chamber from the entrance. Cave Diving is a very technical skill, which takes the vast discipline of scuba diving and then adds no visibility risks. All you have that yellow string to follow back, if you lose it, you're dead.
Or you're in the ocean and get hit by a wave. You're going up and get hit by an undertow wave. The water feels like a brick wall - you somersault ....
Luckily, you get to the top, there are no waves but it's an easy way to die. Former competitive swimmer and in lakes, lifeguard, water is no joke and not to play in. No dunking, no pushing, water is serious.
You eventually pass out it's painful at first . Luckily a dude named Jesus at the pool but I was almost gone
Comparing cave diving to getting stuck under a Pool Floaty...? Are you okay my dude? The two are nowhere close to the same.
@@viren_jalkun
It doesn't matter where or how you drown. The level of panic is less because you're under a pool toy in a chlorine pool at 3 ft. or in the bathtub? I don't think so.
We can Experiment, however -
The "birth canal"? Isn't that the name of a part in the Nutty Putty Cave, Utah?
The cave, where John E. Jones died. He stuck upside-down in a dead end part of the cave.
It sure is. It's pretty a common name for dangerously tight restrictions and passages in caving systems. You'd think that it would start to sink in for people that it often signifies a one way trip.
There is actually another birth canal in another nearby cave in Austin in Travis County too.
As a Geologist, I knew a colleague who researched volcanism. He was warned not to extract steam samples from an active stratovolcano. Tragically, he was killed by a steam plume and no one could rescue him. At least he died doing what he loved doing. He knew the risks and chose to proceed. Perhaps, same thing could be said about cave diving, mountaineering and high risk sports.
By their very nature, environments that are so hostile to human beings are often the most compelling! To paraphrase George Leigh Mallory when asked ‘why Mt. Everest?’ He replied ‘because it is there’. It’s bloody well tragic when participants die in their quest. However, they died doing what they love.
People who harshly judge others who don’t assist the dying in extreme environments must be the Monday morning quarterbacks who weren’t there.
(my apology, all for the wordiness from this old lady here!)
Best wishes, Dr. Lauren
Indeed, to exist is not truly to live. The sad part when you look at the big picture is that those people who harshly judge don't actually live. The fact that they don't understand why someone would put themselves in a dangerous situation doing something they love says they've never found anything in life they would consider dying for. If they've gone their whole life and don't feel that way about something it must be mundane lack any true joy.
My heart goes out to the incredible bravery of rescue divers and climbers. They're like firefighters, to me. The threat isn't just of dying but dying slow and afraid.
Wait, so how was the first body retrieved? You mentioned they found one 10 years later and then a chance encounter led to the other being found 21 years later. Who found the first, and how?
I was wondering this too, the story cut off pretty abruptly
@@dwoodman26 I have started the video over as I thought I missed something. Glad I searched for a comment about it. Bizarre.
The body of Mark has never been found. Ken's remains were found in 2000.
@@abark How did you find that out? I searched all over the place, and there are only a few articles even mentioning their names.
@@evilsharkey8954 if you read about Ken being found it explains Mark has never been
Risking your life to recover a dead body is not only stupid, it likely directly goes against the wishes of your dead friend.
No real friend or loved one would ever want you to risk your life recovering their body. If getting my body is even a little bit risky, just leave me.
100%. Not like anyone needs it anymore, least of all me. Best to leave it as food for the fish. Not risking anyone else's lives, and it's going to a good cause!
I knew the basics of this story already, but this is very well told. This really drives home for me how people who take foolish risks are not just putting themselves in danger- They're putting all the rescuers in danger of injury and death also. I'm serious man, you're so good at this- This is an exceptional documentary.
I'm a Floridian. I've spent quite a lot of time in or around water.
We moved down here from ATL when I was in 3rd grade. Before we moved down here, 1 of my "adult" cousin's, who was waiting for a notification that he had been accepted into Medical School to become a Dr, went cave diving.
He never came home. He was diving with some "friends"; he had decided to go back in....they let him go alone.
When his body was recovered, he looked like something had attacked him. We believe that he might have done the damage to himself when he ran out of O2. His acceptance letter to Med School came the day he died.
He had been my favorite cousin. We got to spend a lot of time with him the previous year, because my mom had spent more time IN the Hospital than out of it. It was very sad. His dad was a Dr, and, his mom was an RN.
So sorry for your loss. I am confused why you believed he did the damage to himself? Like purposely hurt himself? Do you guys know what may have happened ..was he not trained?
How did they find Mark Brashear's body after 10 years? Maybe I missed it, but I think you only mentioned how they found Kent Morpen
I am slightly claustrophobic I can't imagine going into a space like this. Not only do you drown but you get buried alive and THEN you drown. No freaking way.
Who ever left the "you can't keep us out" note. I bet they would end up regretting their arrogance if something were to happen.
For all we know, they never left. Frankly, I don't care if they didn't. Stupid gets what stupid does.
I just feel bad for all the rescuers (in any field like this) risking their lives because of other people's choices.
Risking your life to find a person who you know is dead, and where they are, seems really useless to me. Let that be their graves. They died doing what they loved, probably.
Your story telling is amazing. Please don't use ai generated images
Sign: There is nothing in this cave worth dying for
Divers: I'll pretend I didn't read that.
Ha! Keeping me from the treasure! That won't stop me!
-many cadavers
I did some regular caving in my teens and 20s. Explored the most popular caves in the TAG area. (Where Tenn, Alabama, Ga meet) I swam in a flooded cave once, and crawled through a riverbed cave with only 6 inches of air at the ceiling. The only reason that the idea of scuba diving in a cave doesn't terrify me, is because I know that I will never do it. I'm glad I'm an old man who's most dangerous activity now is kayaking in daylight on a placid lake with multiple other people around while wearing a life jacket.
I would have liked more content about the geologists 21 years later and how that recovery went, but your storytelling was great up until that ending. 👍🏼
Yup! It felt disconcertingly frustrating.
Exactly! I was thinking what. The video abruptly ended. I felt like he wanted to make it longer but just wanted to get the video out quicker. This definitely needs a part two
I just can't fathom why people would needlessly put their lives at such risk.
if I've learned anything in the last 8 years, people are stupid
I didn't know that diving into an aquifer was even possible, but apparently it is. Since aquifers are generally public drinking water supplies and it's really not ok to leave a dead body in water, and because even experienced, qualified cave divers die in these dives, it seems like a deadly and entirely unnecessary gamble for the divers, the body recovery team AND the communities dependent on that water. And all because someone decided to have an incredibly dangerous lark.
I think I read that they tested the water right throughout the ordeal and continuously afterwards. All the results were within normal range. You have to imagine that fish and other animals die or fall in.
I had thought of calling the video something like. What youve been swimming in for 21 years.
But yeah, not great.
In the case of this area, the Aquifer is massive, and the high flow rate and low water temperature would make bacterial infections unviable.
You can’t stick a straw in the water and drink, with or without divers, swimmers, underwater vehicles, etc.
I swam in Lake Superior at Pictured Rock National Park and the water was magnificently clear, so clear I filled a water bottle and was astonished to not see anything in it whatsoever, no sediment, no color at all. I guess because it’s such a cold lake, bacteria can’t grow? I decided to take a risk and take a drink! OMG it was exactly the same as drinking water! I filled my water bottle and drank it all! Then took two more home with me to show my family and friends and challenged them to taste it vs proper bottled water and tell me which is from the lake. They couldn’t tell! And nobody got sick either.
@@Syclone0044 Just because you can’t see or taste contaminants doesn’t mean they’re not present. I wouldn’t drink any wild water that I hadn’t peeked at under high power microscope or just boiled to be on the safe side.
Don Dibble taught me how to dive and got me my PADI card in 1978 while a grad student at SWTSU. Don is the consummate professional and taught me to be a safe diver.
Oh wow. That's great
I went through Don's Instructor course in 1999 and became a NAUI instructor. He had one of those divers tanks on display in his shop. I remember when he told us the story of that day he went in to try and rescue those individuals. It's amazing he survived the attempt given the injuries he sustained during the attempt.
I am a 53 year young scubadiver from the Caribbean Since I was 9 I started diving and working at a diveshop after school. Theres one thing I cannot understand why people cavedive. I will NEVER cavedive . I have claustphobia, and know my limits. Why people willingly put themselves in these situations known to have claimed so many lifes is beyond me. Imo there must be something wrong with you .No amount of training or expertise can prevent sudden disaster.
My bet is a mix of thrill seeking/bragging rights. Afterall... it makes for an incredible story if you survive something no one else has
I can't understand sky diving. Don't jump outta the plane. Thrill adrenaline junkies. I've had my share. Juggling meat cleavers and fire sticks was pretty thrilling. The cleavers had safety covers on them, but there's always something that could go wrong.
I'm SO glad you don't use AI as heavily anymore. Your work stands strong on its own 👍
6:00 why is this blurred? genuinely curious
Because its an ai image and the dude has like 7 fingers, which he probably thought would be too distracting to have in the video
Yeah, there's 1 frame where if you pause the video, you can see the 7 fingers lmao
Its blurred, poorly, so he wouldnt be outed as using AI to create his content for him. 6 fingers and a thumb back there somewhere from my count. I hate and unsub AI channels, too bad because I liked this one.
6:03
AI image, like practically all the other images he’s using. at the end of the shot you can see the number of fingers
Having followed this tragedy many years ago, you provided details I didn’t know. Great video.
Thanks I appreciate that
After Don Dibbles put the grate their some kids left a note saying “you can’t keep us out”.
Foolish people won’t stop making the worst decisions 🤣
They could have written "You can't stop the ignorant."
Yes so I was wondering were people able to go into the 4th cave after this or they just were annoyed and broke that cement barrier. And never went into it.
*there
Basically saying "Darwin Awards won't apply to me!" 🙄
"You can't fix stupid" 😂
"You cant keep us out."
Narcissism at its finest.
I really don't understand why so many people would risk their lives to recover dead bodies.
This is the most harrowing of all of the stories I’ve seen on this channel. I got anxiety just listening to what happened. Really compelling content!
All the rescuers are extremely brave people, they risk their lives to help or recover divers they don't know. Thank God for people like them.
That's not a good thing. The person is dead and their body is doing no harm where it's at. It's not the person, it's a husk. If it were possible to ask the deceased it's very likely that they would be against anyone risking their lives to recover it.
Turning one tragedy into two for no reason other than religion or superstition is ridiculous.
@@trivialtrav You're absolutely right.
Comparision comes to my mind. Living human is like a treasure chest full of goodies.
But when one dies, the chest is emptied. There's nothing inside.
Empty treasure chest is hardly worth pursuing.
@@trivialtravwhatever works in your mind for being a coward, buddy
@@bzipoliit's nothing to do with cowardice it's logic and common sense bud. Once someone dies their body is just a hunk of decomposing flesh. What exactly are you saving when you recover a dead body?
@@sclarin2 the main reason that they recover the bodies of divers is that as they rot they become a bio-hazard to the environment that they are in (that's why we don't leave dead bodies in our house etc.) also their family might like them back so they have some closure about their death.
Leave these people where they are. It is not worth the risk to recover people who ignored warnings.
The money would have been better spent on the starving and homeless
yeah, it's such a waste just for some bones
Cave diving especially gives me anxiety just watching those crawl through the passages
I find the end of the video fascinating because it describes the human psyche very well
As soon as you ban something, it automatically becomes interesting
Reverse psychology
So true
Is, "Reverse Psychology" a nice way of saying, "Foolish"?
Diving purposefully into an extremely difficult underwater cave system and dying is peak natural selection
Truth. Mentally unwell is a great way to put it.
@@stedydubdetroit like yeah its a bit hars but its a cave that is full of water, its just such a uninviting location that is essentially blocked off so no one would go there... yet some still just want to and oh boy they absolutely will
Thank you for highlighting how much extra risk the recovery attempt creates. Of course, accidents can happen even in "regular", safer conditions, and some folks who do cave diving explictly request their bodies to NOT be recovered to avoid this specific issue. But sadly many folks die by attempting dives or cave explorations beyond their skill level and being confident they will have no issue, and then someone has to risk everything trying to recover the bodies.
Maybe someone should consider using remote control drones with manipulator arms? Like what they use to explore things like the titanic, or other deep wrecks?
The ones small enough to fit only recently went into production but then small also means they don't have the power to dig into a hole like that.
So yes and no.
The ROVs they use to find wrecks have a cable that tethers them to a surface ship, and unfortunately they don't do well in enclosed spaces... that cable can easily get snagged & the ROV can't free itself, and they are _way_ too expensive to risk losing. Caves are also bad news for anything remote controlled as the signal won't travel through rock & you get lots of reflection/echo off every surface.
ROC technology wasn’t at the same point back then.
It wasn't a problem of depth or time, it was a problem of access. The later team had an umbilicus and recomp chamber, they could spend all day down there if they wanted to. The problem was all of the gravel blocking the chamber, and no robot would be able to get through that, even if they existed back then.
@@waterlinestoriesyeah. and those flexible body drones are being developed for extreme enviroments just like these. might be a while until operational tho
This is the second cave I've heard with a 'birth canal' and the other one is a terrestrial dry cave. I wouldn't go thru either, Ever.
It’s the 3rd or 4th for me. Far as I’m aware it’s a common term for tight narrow tunnels that are less than shoulder width you can traverse.
And never ever go through narrow descending spaces where you could get stuck head-first. Getting stuck head pointed downslope is a death sentence in itself even if nothing else happens. Just that position and the body being wedged will kill you - even if you have drinking water, are not hypothermic, and there are no other risks. Being underwater doesn’t help obviously.
Been through one birth canal, I don't need another in my life!
Nutty Putty haunts us all.
My prayers for the family that lost their loved ones and my prayers to bless those that risked their lives and gave their time and money to retrieve these boys. Bless the diving community and the rescue teams. God bless and protect you.
Your video was in a recommended videos Jermaine clicked on it and I'm actually really impressed you did your homework, and the way you're narrating the story not rushing it you taking the time and showing at the respect that it deserves thank you sir
Even if I was offered 1 million dollars I would not enter that cave. These stories are my biggest fear. Also people involved in rescue operations should be exempt from medical costs. Damn that sucks!
I'd definitely go to the less dangerous part for a million 😂
No way I'm Squeezing through loose gravel tho, that is insane.
@@carlpanzram7081 I could bring my myself to float over the opening lol.
This is so fascinating and terrifying. I really appreciate your channel. "Diving into the Unknown" is one of my favorite documentaries. All the science of free diving is incredible, too. Fighting your biological processes and the mammalian urge for oxygen? It absolutely amazes me.
Stay safe.
I haven’t seen it, I’ll have to check it out. Thanks for watching
Am so freaking tired....how is party goin?
Random
This has become my absolute favorite channel. Love your stories and descriptions.
Wow, thanks. That’s amazing, i really appreciate that
this might be a dumb question but why are the rescue divers putting their lives at risk to recover a body? I mean, those divers are already dead, recovering their bodies seems like an unnecessary risk.
Yeah. I think I’d be happy to just stay put. But ultimately it’s down to those who are still alive.
They volunteered for it and I suppose they know the risks that are involved with the recovery. However, risking their lives for free without their dive insurance and hospitalization benefits just so that they can recover the body of a person who willingly went in there seems unfair. People have died or gotten injured trying to recover/ save divers who made questionable decisions.
I love scuba diving in open water but I would never dive caves like this ever.
Smart move
yeah. strange. they must be young (and stupid)
Horseshoers have this thing about everything being a numbers game. Drive enough nails, you get a few bad ones. So don't bank on you being the only person to never drive a bad one, bank on never hanging everything on a single nail. I've definitely done dumb stuff hedging on things going magically different cause it's me, but I never bet the farm.
Yeah I like that analogy.
When you said horseshoers and numbers I thought of the game, and how statistical it can be. Then I realized you meant farriers (and statistics).
@@jermainerace4156 two things can be true
Also, no one ever knows what a farrier is and it's awesome you do
I have recovered bodies in blackwater before. I've also started in to cave diving. There comes a point where it's no longer a rescue, and it's not worth a diver's life.
Blackwater in Florida?
@@VictoriaMarch13 Texas.
If there's one thing I've learned from youtube, is to never go in a cave that has a place called "the birth canal" in it
Yeah you’ve certainly not going to be born again 😂
Death canal would be more appropriate. And yeah, I'd avoid that too
Thanks for giving me a lesson on why I will never cave dive. Probably saved me and any potential rescuers a lot of grief.
I think the helpful part of this for people reading this who don't dive and want to, or are qualified in Open water and "thinking" about cave diving: Ensure your CAVE CERTIFIED. Any other dive certificate does not make you cave certified. I don't know if these 2 were cave certified or how many tanks of the correct mixture of gases they had on. !!!~Yes expert Cave Divers have died~!!!. You should NEVER ever take your gear off and/or go in backward thru a small opening. Doesn't matter if you see others doing it. Taking any gear off increases your chances of something going wrong. **Taking gear off should be left to the Divers who are qualified cave Mappers which is altogether different than Recreational cave diving.
Yeah good point
If they only had one flashlight each and no line, then no, those chuckleheads were absolutely not cave certified. Probably just basic open water, if that.
I learned to dive at Don Brod's dive center on Lake Travis back in the the early 80's. As an assistant instructor I spent several summers there there as well. Don was a fascinating guy. A little surly but cool nonetheless.
I feel like some of these cave divers that strive for absolute danger, are literally dancing with death, and they know it. It's a waltz of veritable insanity, in my honest opinion. I have always been fascinated by the psychology of such cave divers, as there are numerous stories of things going very bad, very quickly. It's good that the bodies were indeed eventually discovered - but another part of me gets a bit annoyed thinking about the decisions some of these people make; what is to gain, versus what is to lose? Anyone else feel similarly on such matters? I guess I should consider myself lucky to not have ever had such an intense desire for an apparent adrenaline rush. A desire so immensely powerful, that I need to put my life in peril (and possibly rescuer's lives) just for a rush and the ability to say "I did that."
That’s exactly the allure. They want to get to the edge and come back to say, I survived!
The problem is not knowing where the edge is but still believing you do.
those types of people are narcissists, they are simply incapable of caring how they effect other people.
@@waterlinestories Yes, I must say I agree with this assessment of the psychological reasons for such acts. And I don't really condemn anyone for living such a lifestyle - It's just in stories like the one above, that you realize how many people are in that ripple-effect, when things do go past the edge. The family, friends, other divers, etc. But the one thing we can take from these occurrences is establishing a strong foundation of a sense of reality for ourselves, when doing potentially life-threatening feats. See, I used to do a lot of prospecting in Colorado, USA. The terrain was insane and required a lot of skill to get to the raw topaz we were in search of. (A lot of rappelling, free-climbing, bouldering) I'll try and abridge this as much as possible: But once we took a highly dangerous route to go to an unseen area for us. Foreboding rocks that had to be traversed carefully, very limited routes to get to the designated area, etc. (the fall would have been one in which you would wish to die from, even if you did survive.) We get to the spot and this storm just rustles up out of nowhere. Moving fast, with lightning and thunder - Now, we are drenched in rain and both my mining partner and I knew, we had to back-track; and fast! So going up was easier, now we are going down and the rocks are soaked in rain. Didn't bring our climbing rope either, because we were idiots that day and just felt so confident. "We got this man. Mind over matter, right?" (Of course we did not anticipate this storm to move over so fast either. Kind of a freak storm, that wasn't even predicted on radar prior to our planning that day out.) Anyways - I will Never forget hanging on to the side of that cliff, shaking and getting pumped to make the last maneuver. One that would get me to a comfortable situation for the rest of the traversal back down. I had to reach across a gap, and pray to whatever god that is listening for it to go well. I would have tumbled hundreds of feet, into pulp, had I fallen. It was a true leap of faith, as I had to throw my body weight over the gap, grab a hold of this rock and hope my foot didn't slip. My friend has already done it, and he's shaken up from it. I remember he was just gleaming at me, eyes-wide, whispering: "Come on man, you gotta do it. It's our only way down and after this we are set"
We made it down and ran down the less rocky section of this mountain to the car. But we both learned a valuable lesson that day: We stepped over the edge and just happened to be lucky enough to survive. That time. And I never put myself in a life-threatening situation like that again. The feeling that you are having to make a 50/50 shot; "Do I die today, or will I live through this?" all from an actually avoidable situation was something I'll never forget. It's something I am thankful for; The whole event, I mean. Perhaps a wake-up call from the heavens.
So I can understand how we can get into these situations, where we've just gone too far. And that's why the suspense of these diving videos you share are just on a whole other level for me. Because you are out of your element, so to speak, to begin with. And I dunno if it's really true, but I've heard that we currently know more about space than the actual depths of Earth's oceans currently. Which, if true, is a testament for their inhospitable nature for most non-aquatic species.
@@pleaseunshadowbanme I think in a lot of cases, that is certainly the case. It's why part of me gets a bit frustrated to see someone risk their lives to such a degree, for that rush; When they've got so many people that would be absolutely devastated if they did in fact perish.
But I shared a story, somewhat similar, from my youth that you can see if you want. It's a reply to Waterline Stories from the original comment I made here. Because I was thinking about it, and then I remembered a time in which a mining partner and I did something in which we could have died from. All from just wanting to push the limits, I suppose.
So even I have done something life threatening. But I did not continue such endeavors in the least. And I think some of the people we are really thinking of in such a discussion, are those who cheat death and go back in for another round.
It reminds of of the free form rock climbers or base jumpers. There was one kid who was a free form climber who wore a parachute and would climb way high up so if he fell he could parachute down. He ended up dying in a wing suit accident with his dog on his back his partner he flew with crashed then he flinched and crashed himself, he was pretty famous in the climbing world for climbing and wing suiting with his dog. His girlfriend said she heard the smack but still went to the meetup point with hopes she was wrong about what she heard.
They shouldn’t attempt a recovery in the first place.
Maybe
I'm a 35-year PADI instructor and rescue diver, scared sh*tless of cave diving. I did all the speciality trainings so that I could assist with medical rescues at the entrance only. Call me chickensh*t if you must but since I live to dive I have not and will not ever descend into an underwater cave.
I'll call you one of the most sensible people I've eve known.
Seems like a completely sensible attitude to me!
I am also never going into any caves, praying for the safety of any person who has to 🙏
Why?
What's so bad about a cave? Is it the prospect of getting lost or running into a current that sucks you in?
It’s disgusting that the hospital charged for dons procedure….
My question is how was the cave mapped past chamber 3 if you can’t get into chamber 4? Sonar or someone lucky enough to squeeze by perhaps idk.
Ground radar? Water dye? Highly trained dolphins? Curious also if anyone can answer.
Probably some sort of equipment like that.
This was fascinating to me. My love for life would never let me: cave dive, street drag race, jump from a plane, or bungee jump. I can enjoy each of those on RUclips I'll call myself "professional spectator enthusiast." Thanks for the great presentation.
That sign is downright proper.
-Any further and you're swimming with Death.
A friend and I took a dive in an old mine in Cornwall in the 80s, he was experienced I wasn’t. I’m so glad he chose not to go too far as it was pitch black and could’ve gone badly wrong. Scary now not then. Thanks mate
excellent narration and very precisely spoken, thankyou for sharing the events surrounding this awful accident
Happy to see another video, was wondering about your channel last week. Keep up the good work, really loving the contextual visuals as well
Thanks. I’ve been away. Getting back up to speed now. Thanks for watching
Another great documentary. Thank you.
However fascinating, the content is the stuff of nightmares. I'm sure this will give me a sleepless night tonight!
We aim to haunt your dreams
Fantastic story... And you have a gift... The gift of delivery... Remember, telling a good joke is all in the delivery... Thank you
Thanks, I really appreciate that
You know what's great? Sunny mornings. Birds singing. Not being in a G****mn underwater cave.
Really good. A horrifying scenario well told.
Just goes to show that it doesn’t have to be overly _stylistic_ or a copy of someone else’s successful format.
The content stands on it’s own merit. Good job.
Thanks.
@@waterlinestories 🫡
Just found this channel, but love it! I appreciate there isn't a bunch of migraine inducing screen flickers, and a focus on the story not promoting your products for the first 10 minutes.
Terrific story teller!
Consider the story of how many dozens of people died jumping off Hamilton Pool water fall also in Hays County. The ambulances had to make several trips there every single weekend. I should know - I was transported by one of them!
I can't remember the last time I was working on a car, stuck my hand in somewhere tight and thought to myself "I sure wish I was doing this with my whole body."
I’m 54, but was, I’d consider, an advanced novice in scuba, climbing, ww kayaking, skiing, etc, in my 20s & 30s.
Generally, I played it safe and smart. But the one and only time I panicked was during a dive, and came within 5sec or so of drowning. I made a lucky move in my panic.
What wakes me up upset is how quickly a mistake could be fatal. That experience changed me, and the things I used to thrive on hold little interest for me. Just like that, fun no longer.
"They're experienced divers in their early 20's"
I was born and raised in Austin Texas. I remember hearing about these deaths and several others over the years. I know you said there was no record of a diver that had the bends but I remember reading his name in the newspaper when this happened. Also, I need to correct one thing you said which is you said the water flows from the Trinity aquifer. This is incorrect, it flows from the Edwards Aquifer. The Trinity aquifer is farther north in Texas. I really enjoy following your stories. They are quite informative
Sup with that weird AI art at 2:36?
Yo so glad I wasn’t the only one who saw it!
Same!
IKR. lol. Definitely space aliens in bad humanoid costumes. 😅
$8000 was actually $30,000 in today's equivalent purchasing power.
At this point i would have just gone with "so you removed the crate and left a note you cant stop us... well i cant, but this explosive charge collapsing the birthing canal can..."
I'm kind of surprised there isn't a submarine drone for assessing these sorts of situations instead of sending divers down. At the very least you could get into smaller spaces and collect more data without risking anyone
You can't send a signal through rock is why. It would have to ge hard wired and for even more obvious reasons that wouldn't work,. Respectfully .
What about Elon's submarine? He was going to rescue that football team trapped deep in a cave in Thailand i think?
There was barely enough room for the divers to squeeze through those caves. It was a modern day miracle that they saved the kids. Elon’s sub would never have fit through the caves.
This all happened decades ago. Modern miniaturized submersibles didn't exist then.
Not a fan of AI art. It looks weird.
Looks bad 😂
it's trashy
Same
It's unethical. It's lazy. It's theft
Yeah, I've started blocking channels that have been using AI art.
Anyone else realize some geologist outperformed every pro that tried it?
The geologists had no problem getting thru the birth canal. If you need a good diver get a professional diver, if you need the best divers get some egg head geologists. They will do it better, safer, quicker, and cheaper all while diving the spring is just something they do in order to do their actual work.
😂