| Name | Age | Sex | Injuries | Injured areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dibble, Don | Not recorded | Male | Ruptured stomach, pertonitis | Stomach |
| Maupin, Kent | 20 | Male | Death | Drowning |
| Brashier, Mark | 20 | Male | Death | Drowning |
Shortly after midnight on September 9, Kent Maupin (20) and Mark Brashier (20) and a few others made a dive into Jacob's Well, near Wimberly, Texas. Maupin was an experienced diver-an assistant instructor and part-time employee at a dive shop.
The entrance to the Well is a small crevice in the bottom of Cypress Creek. For some distance the clear waters and spaciousness provide for safe diving. A point is reached, however, beyond which few had penetrated. This squeeze was rumored to lead to a vast room and had previously claimed the lives of four divers. Maupin had spoken of making this penetration but on September 9 had not done the planning nor gotten any specialized equipment for such-no backup lights, no safety line.
At the squeeze Maupin and Brashier apparently decided on impulse to go for it. In turn each removed his tank and backed into the crevice, pulling his air supply after him. Another diver, Joe Moye, saw this and flashed his light to get their attention, with no effect.
Moye's aluminum tank held more air than the steel tanks of Maupin and Brashier and with their deeper exploration, their air consumption would be greater. With his own air supply running low, Moye finally had to leave. He banged hopefully on his tank with his knife, but no response came. He left his light shining at the squeeze and retreated. Just after he reached the surface, the clear water became silty-an impenetrable brown. Whatever the reason, it meant the lost divers would not be coming out.
The police were called and the Hays County volunteer body-recovery unit put together a team of four divers. They arrived at the Well before dawn. The other members of the original diving party had gone back in with no success but one diver, in the course of two ninety minute dives, claimed to have seen the bodies buried in a pile of gravel. Two divers went down but failed to see any bodies, only that the squeeze was almost closed with gravel. It was decided to get more divers.
At 10 a.m. on the 10th of September two divers went down and tried to move gravel with trowels to make a passable space, but failed. Don Dibble, the leader of the rescue team, then descended with another diver to assess the situation. Using a safety line and with ten minutes of air left, he cautiously entered the squeeze. Observing with his light it seemed obvious that the gravel bed would have to be removed before body recovery would be feasible. At that point Dibble himself was suddenly trapped by a gravel slide. Both arms were pinned-he could neither jerk on the safety line nor bang on his tank. He frantically tried to release himself and in a short time was out of air. As he prepared to die, his body automatically went into its final spasms and, amazingly, he lurched free. However, when given the regulator of the spare tank he inserted the mouthpiece and inhaled with sufficient force that he swallowed air as well. He tried to belch but couldn't. As he surfaced, the air expanded and caused extreme pain. He suffered a ruptured stomach wall and subsequent peritonitis-he was initially diagnosed as suffering from an embolism and it was sometime later before his true condition was realized from X-rays.
Another expert was called in and also was of the opinion that the gravel would have to be removed. A professional diving company was contracted. After a week of removing gravel with a suction device, a worker was pinned by a slide. Another diver was sent down and the trapped man was safely released. Two more days of dredging went on and a passage was opened enough to allow a videotape camera on a broom handle to be thrust through. It showed a "low, broad, vaulted room" of uncertain size. Replays of the tape allowed a glimpse of a tank valve and regulator mouthpiece to be identified.
A day later, with more gravel cleared away, a diver made it almost to the end of the squeeze passage. The floor dropped off into the chamber seen on the camera. No scuba gear and no bodies were seen, though it was possible they were above the observer since the ceiling could not be seen. To actually enter the room would require the removal of two large boulders. At that point operations were suspended while the funding was clarified. Two days later the crew was back at work with their previous efforts nullified by a refill of gravel. It soon became obvious that their efforts were futile. A second professional opinion was the same-call off the body recovery. The recovery efforts had taken 12 days. Three months later a bar- rier was constructed, sealing off the Well at the 75 foot level.
Analysis: Cave diving properly conducted is very dangerous. To cave dive without planning and proper equipment would seem to be insanity or extreme stupidity. What is it, then, that seizes normally sane, intelligent people and leads them into situations such as this? The involved recovery operations in this double fatality point out a blindness common among adventurous people. It is often stated by those undertaking exceptionally hazardous and perhaps foolhardy enterprises that no one should come for them if they fail to return or that no one should worry about recovery of their body if they are killed. Those making such a statement apparently feel better about their activities since it is then only their lives placed in jeopardy. This is rank foolishness. Society places a great value on human life and even on the human body and insists upon going to great expense and even the endangering of other lives to recover one of its own, even if already dead.
Rescuer trapped, nearly out of air, spasmed free at last minutes. Swallowed air on way up, which expanded and ruptured stomach. Texas Monthly Feb1980 p96, 162, 164. Austin American-Statesman 9/10/79. ibid 9/12/79. ibid 9/16/79.
This record was last updated on 27th Apr 2024 at 23:11 UTC.