MUS-2026-0496
Archive card
MUS-2026-0496
Missing person
- Incident
- 2010
- Indexed
- Oct 27, 2026, by MuseUnsolved
- Agency
- Holmes County Sheriff's Office
- Location
- Ponce de Leon FL
Public record. Index entry.
Index entry. Case details compiled from public reporting; our researchers have not verified this file yet.
Summary
What happened, as the record shows.
Ben McDaniel, 30, of Memphis, Tennessee, had been diving regularly at Vortex Spring near Ponce de Leon, Florida, while staying at his parents' beach house. Dive shop employees last saw him on August 18, 2010, starting an evening dive into the cave despite lacking cave certification. On August 20 his truck was still in the parking lot with his wallet, phone, and dive logs inside. Months of searches found only anomalously placed decompression tanks and no body. Florida issued a death certificate in 2013. No one has been charged in connection with his disappearance.
Timeline
What the record establishes.
- 2010
On August 18, 2010, at about 7:30 p.m., McDaniel begins his last dive at Vortex Spring.
- 2010
On August 20, 2010, employees report his truck still in the lot and the sheriff's office is notified.
- 2013
Florida issues a death certificate.
Key people
The people in the file.
30, of Memphis, Tennessee. Last seen starting a dive at Vortex Spring on August 18, 2010.
Contact details change over time; confirm the current assignee before publishing.
Investigating agency
Where tips go.
This case is with the Holmes County Sheriff's Office. If you know something, say something to them. For public-record leads for our researchers, use the tip line on any open file.
Coverage
Coverage and further reading.
Continue