2 Men Die While Cave Diving In Florida Spring: Sheriff

HERNANDO COUNTY, FL — Rescue crews in Florida said they recovered the bodies of two missing divers who vanished after exploring a deep spring at a wildlife park this week.

Deputies have identified the divers as Todd Richard McKenna, 52, and Stephen Roderick Gambrell, 63. Their bodies have been turned over to the medical examiner in Hernando County, authorities said.

On Wednesday at approximately 12:20 p.m., deputies with the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office said they received a 911 call for a possible drowning at Buford Springs in the Chassahowitzka Wildlife Park in Weeki Wachee.

According to the sheriff's office, the 911 caller was one of three teens who arrived at the park around 9 a.m. to swim and hang out by the water.

Around 11 a.m., the teen said two men arrived. As the adults prepared for their dive, they chatted with the teens. Both men got into the water and dove for a short time before resurfacing, deputies said.

When the men resurfaced, deputies said the men chatted with one another. The teens believed the pair were talking about going back down into the “cave” and if they had enough air in their tanks to complete the dive.

Deputies said one of the teens believed he heard a diver mention that he possibly had a leak in his tank. After a short time, both adults dove back down under the water.

Sometime later, deputies said the teens noticed one of the divers come to the surface. The diver was floating face down, which the teens believed he was doing intentionally to look for the other diver who had yet to resurface.

Before long, deputies said the teens noticed there were no bubbles coming to the surface — like there had been earlier. The teens said they swam over to check on him and received no response. They were able to get the diver over to the dock but were unable to lift him out of the water.

After arriving on scene, two deputies said they jumped into the water and lifted the diver onto the dock. The officers said the diver was obviously dead.

Deputies said they waited for the other diver to come to the surface. Knowing the divers discussed the amount of air in their tanks, they believed he would resurface any minute, since he would be running out of air.

As time passed and the second diver did not surface, deputies said they concluded 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 and began searching for the second diver, deputies said.

The IUCRR divers located the second diver approximately 137 feet below the surface. Obviously deceased, deputies said the 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," read a portion of a news release from the sheriff's office.

At this time, deputies said they don't know if all of the divers' equipment was working properly.