D.I.R. España

[UPDATE] 6-13 11am -

CAVE DIVER DEATH FOLLOW-UP

The Medical Examiner’s preliminary autopsy findings of a deceased cave diver Sunday, June 12 were consistent with drowning, according to Sheriff David Harvey. James Edward Miller, 50, of Longwood, Fla. died Saturday, June 11 shortly after 4 p.m. at Whiskey Still Sink, located on private property at 127 Riversink Road.

Interviews with divers at the scene determined that Miller was part of the Woodville Karst Plain dive team that was diving and mapping a series of sinkholes and caves that connect to Wakulla Springs. The divers were diving to depths of 220 feet when Miller apparently attempted to use the wrong tank at the depth he had reached.

Several oxygen mixture tanks were used by divers in a specific order at certain depths during the dive. Detective Derek Lawhon interviewed two divers who were decompressing in the water when the drowning was first reported.

The two divers diving with Miller said he dropped one of his tanks at a depth of 70 feet. They noted that the tank he dropped at 70 feet was the one he needed at 222 feet. The divers were unable to get an oxygen tank to Miller in time to assist him. Despite dropping the tank, Miller proceeded with the dive. The deceased diver and his equipment were all collected from the scene. Two safety divers from another cave dive site in the Natural Bridge area of Woodville arrived at the Riversink site and recovered Miller’s body from the water.

The case remains open as investigators review the oxygen mixtures in each tank. Miller’s dive equipment and vehicle were impounded.

Miller was considered an expert diver with more than 20 years of dive experience and was a Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve. Deputy Clint Beam, Lt. Mike Kemp, Deputy Ian Dohme, Captain Randall Taylor, Lt. C.L. Morrison and Detective Derek Lawhon investigated the accidental drowning.

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The body of a 50-year-old Longwood cave diver was recovered in a Crawfordville sinkhole at 4:05 p.m. Saturday, June 11, according to Wakulla County Sheriff David Harvey.

The diver was identified as James Edward Miller. Investigators arrived at a private property sinkhole, Whiskey Still Sink, at 127 Riversink Road north of Crawfordville, and determined that Miller was conducting an exploratory dive in a chain of sinks that are connected to Wakulla Springs.

Miller was one of three divers in his group which included two other individuals in a support role. The divers were going to depths of 220 feet. It has not been determined whether the victim drowned or had a medical emergency. His body and diving gear were recovered from the scene. An autopsy is scheduled for Sunday, June 12 to attempt to determine the cause of death.

Miller was part of a group that has worked for many months exploring and mapping caves in the region. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene at 4:25 p.m. Support divers estimated that Miller was in the water approximately one hour and 40 minutes.

Lt. Mike Kemp, Lt. C.L. Morrison, Deputy Clint Beam and Deputy Ian Dohme investigated along with Wakulla EMS. The case investigation remains open.

[Update 6-13 8:26 P.M.]

David Erwin couldn't believe it when he found out 50-year-old Army Colonel James Miller drowned in the sinkhole on his property.

Erwin says Miller's always been prepared and has dived here at least three times.

"I simply couldn't believe it. He's the last person in the world you would ever expect this to happen to," said Erwin.

The Wakulla County Sheriff's Office says Saturday afternoon around four, Miller and two other divers were exploring the Whiskey still sink when Miller dropped a tank at 70 feet.

It was the same tank he needed to survive at 220 feet where he drowned.

"These particular folks our hearts go out to, professionals, because these are true professionals and they've just lost one of their colleagues, said Wakulla County Sheriff David Harvey. "So my heart goes out to them. They were a team."

Now that team is working to be there for Miller's family.

Miller had more than 20 years of dive experience.

Erwin says Miller drowned in the same cave he just recently discovered.

Jim was diving with two buddies Saturday, each using an RB80 rebreather. They entered at a site in the WKP (Woodville Karst Plain) called Whiskey Still Sink. From Whiskey, the conduit proceeds at a shallow depth to Innisfree Sink, and beyond Innisfree it drops deeper to a max depth around 220ft and continues. Thus, their decompression was to be done on the other side of Innisfree. Their bottom mix was 240 gas. They carried deco gas to be used at 120, 70, and oxygen at 20. Given the offset profile, they did their own deco setup.

They began the dive on their 120 bottles, which are suitable for the shallow cave between Whiskey and Innisfree. Passing Innisfree they dropped deco bottles at their respective depths. The first error occurred at the 70ft stop, where Jim dropped one of his 240 bottles -- he should have dropped his 70ft bottle, and it should not have been carried any further into the cave.

After proceeding down to the 120ft stop, the team stopped for their switch to 240 gas (their bottom gas). At this point the second and most serious error occurred -- Jim switched onto his 70 bottle. Part of our standard procedure and a very critical step in each and every bottle switch is to check the MOD sticker on the side of the bottle, which would have made very clear that he was about to switch to the wrong bottle; we don't know why, but this check was missed. We also want buddies to watch each others' switches carefully enough to confirm the correct bottle is in play, but this secondary check was not performed and the error was not caught. Following the switch the team dropped their 120 bottles, and proceeded into the cave.

They continued into the cave for a little less than an hour (with Jim breathing his 70 bottle), and turned the dive as planned. Not long after the turn, Jim experienced a seizure. His buddies tried unsuccessfully to help him recover from the seizure, and Jim drowned.

After a prolonged exit the team was able to bring Jim back to the basin at Innisfree, and shortly thereafter a pair of our support divers brought him back to the surface.

So, that's the crux of it. There was a significant error, a critical error, plus missed opportunities to catch and correct those errors.

Jim was a very experienced and responsible diver, and known among his friends for his exceptional meticulousness. We're profoundly shocked and saddened to lose him, and he'd be one of the last people we'd ever imagine might die this way. This dive was well within his skill and experience levels, and the site was very familiar to him.