Two scuba divers drown in ‘mazelike cave system’ at Weekie Wachee wildlife park
(Chassahowitzka Wildlife Park, Image credit: Hernando County Sheriff’s Office)
On June 22 around 12:20 p.m., a 911 call was placed to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office in Brooksville, Florida, regarding a possible drowning. The location provided was “Buford Springs Cave” which lies in the Chassahowitzka Wildlife Park at 13243 Commercial Way in Weeki Wachee. The 911 caller was one of three teens, ages 15, 15, and 17, who arrived at the park around 9 a.m., to swim and hang out by the water.
At approximately 11 a.m., two men with scuba gear arrived. As those two adults prepared for their dive, they chatted with the juveniles. Both men then entered the water and dove for a short time before resurfacing.
CBS News described the cave system beneath the waters at Buford Springs as a “mazelike Florida cave system that extends deep below the surface.”
When the adults resurfaced, they engaged in conversation with one another. The juveniles believed the discussion was in regards to going back down into the “cave” and whether or not they had enough air in their tanks to complete their dive. One of the divers is believed to have mentioned that he possibly had a leak in his tank. After a short time, both adults dove back down under the water.
A short while later, the juveniles observed one of the divers come to the surface. The diver was floating face down, which the juveniles believed he was doing purposely, to look for the other diver who had yet to resurface.
Before long, the juveniles noticed there were no bubbles coming to the surface, like there had been earlier. The juveniles swam over to check on him and received no response. The three juveniles were able to get the diver over to the dock but were unable to lift him out of the water.
Upon arriving at the scene, Deputies N. Burburan and J. Balafas jumped into the water, and together, lifted the diver onto the dock. The diver was deceased.
Deputies waited for the other diver to come to the surface. Knowing the divers discussed the amount of air in their tanks, deputies believed he would be surfacing any minute, as he would be running out of air.
As time passed and the second diver did not surface, deputies surmised that he most likely experienced some type of problem in the cave.
Several members of the International Underwater Cave Rescue and Recovery (IUCRR) responded to the scene to attempt a recovery mission for the second diver. These highly specialized cave divers entered the water and began the search for the second diver.
The IUCRR divers located the second diver approximately 137 feet below the surface. Obviously deceased, the second diver was recovered and brought to the surface.
Neither of the divers had any obvious signs of trauma and both appeared to have the appropriate diving equipment. It is unknown at this time if all the equipment was working properly. The remains of both victims were turned over to the Medical Examiner.
Detectives located identification, belonging to both victims, inside the vehicle in which they arrived. Next-of-kin notifications were made to both victims’ families.
The first victim has been identified as 52-year-old Todd Richard McKenna. The second victim was identified as 64-year-old Stephen Roderick Gambrell. From information gleaned from the divers’ IDs, deputies could tell that the men were neighbors.
According to The Miami Herald, the two men died in a spring-fed cave pool that is 150-deep and ranked among “the most beautiful scuba sites in Florida,” The Florida Guidebook reports.
The Sheriff’s Office said that their investigation into the drownings remains active. For more on the tragic drownings at Buford Springs, see the video accompanying this article.
(Source: Hernando County Sheriff’s Office)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook and Twitter
