DEVASTATING

Record-Breaking Cave Diver’s Body Recovered by His Own Team

Brett Hemphill got separated from his team last week in Texas’ Phantom Springs Cave.

The body of a legendary cave diver who vanished under water in Texas on Wednesday has been recovered by his own team.

Brett Hemphill was the adventurer behind the nonprofit Karst Underwater Research and the place where he died, Phantom Springs Cave, was the site of a record-breaking dive he made a decade ago.

His team reported he reached a depth of 174 meters last week before he became separated from his team in the notoriously treacherous cave system. His team was the only one qualified to go in and rescue him, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

“We finished recovering Brett from the cave this evening. Thank you to everyone who has contributed in any way,” Karst posted on Facebook.

“When we have got all the information and analyzed it, we will issue a statement about the incident that will answer everyone’s questions. Until then, please allow us some time to come to terms with his loss, as up until now we have been focused on the recovery.”

According to Hemphill’s bio, his love of exploring dates back to his childhood, when he took part in a dry cave excursion at the age of 14.

“While the others slept, Brett and two trip counselors managed to find a yet undiscovered section of the cave. This discovery, small as it may have been, stayed with Brett for many years,” it reads.

In the early ’90s, he “began to probe and explore every small spring and tidal vent within a fifty-mile radius of his home in central Florida” and formed a research group that brought new attention to underwater caves.

His team broke the United States deep underwater cave record at Weeki Wachee Springs in Florida in 2008 and then set the new record at Phantom Springs five years later.

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Tracy Connor

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