Diver found dead in same cave where he broke US record a decade ago | US News

A well-known cave diver was discovered dead in the deepest underwater cave in the US – the same place where he set a record a decade ago.

Brett Hemphill, 56, dove into Phantom Springs Cave in Toyahvale, Texas, on October 4. He tied a guide rope at roughly 570 feet deep, at which point he got separated from his team.

Other divers and rescue crews searched for him down to more than 450 feet deep.

Four days later, on Sunday, they recovered his body.

‘We finished recovering Brett from the cave this evening,’ wrote fellow cave explorer Andy Pitkin on the Facebook page of Karst Underwater Research, a nonprofit protecting underwater ecosystems that Hemphill served as president of.

‘Thank you to everyone who has contributed in any way. 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.’

Over two decades, Hemphill traversed various cave systems and mapped them out.

Hemphill and members of Karst Underwater Research broke a deep underwater cave record in the US in 2008, getting down 407 feet in Weeki Wachee Springs in Florida.

In 2013, Hemphill set a new record in the US when he dove 465 feet down Phantom Springs and 8,000 back in the cave system. He discovered the deepest underwater cave ever to be measured in the country.

Hemphill won Emmy Awards working with photographer Becky Kagan Schott.

‘We won Emmys together, educated the public about safety in caves and what draws people to these places,’ wrote Schott.

‘I will always smile when I think of you but right now I’m heartbroken as are all of your friends. You meant a lot to a lot of people.’

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