The Most DANGEROUS Dive Site In Texas | Cave Exploring Gone Wrong 

Big thanks to Tiffany for reminding me to cover Jacob's Well. It's been on the list for a while. Have a great week everyone!

When I'm on my death bed thinking about my life I'll say "At least I did one thing right..I never went cave diving."

Saying 'you can't stop us' from voluntarily swimming into the underwater death cave is the most Texas thing I've heard.

The fact that Don survived everything he went through is a miracle. The fact that divers still wanted to go through with that after everything, is stupid as hell.

Cave diving has the worst reward to danger ratio of any activity on earth. Imagine risking your life to see a dark underwater room with nothing in it.

I thought cave diving was bad enough, but diving through holes so small you have to take off your tanks? Jeez, that’s just a whole new level of crazy.

You couldn't pay me enough money to ever go cave-diving. Baffling that so many people do it voluntarily.

Knowing that a search and rescue expert, following protocols, with backup divers assisting him, almost died simply by poking his head through the opening to check for bodies with 10 minutes of air, it makes what the two guys that went missing did that much more insane.

I feel worse for Joe in the first story than I do for Mark or Kent. It has to be such an awful feeling not being able to get your friend's attention and watching them do something stupid and reckless and then turn around knowing they aren't coming back.

the idea of another “large chamber” being the best thing you could find at the end is the most insane reward ever.

Props for pioneering the genre of anti-tourism videos

This episode was so good but SO frustrating. People just keep making the same mistakes, thinking nothing bad will happen to them. Kudos on your visual narration because I could picture everything while just listening as I moved around the house.

Ed Sorenson is the most incredible Cave diver in the world to me. The man has rescued and retrieved more cave divers in conditions that panic even the most skilled divers. He's who they call when other rescue divers will go no further. Definitely a super human and a real American hero.

My dad is a professional wreck diver and when HE tells me that cave diving isnt worth the insane risk; i believe him!

I did my scuba training at the San Marcos dive shop in Texas, the closest dive shop to Jacob’s Well and the home base/rental spot for many dives there. In the training classroom there was a display case full of equipment recovered from dead divers and plaques with their names. Really made me take the safety power points seriously

"You can't keep us out!" Congratulations on your posthumous Dawin Awards. Great video!

Joe's dive companions wordlessly deciding, in tandem, to remove their tanks and go through the squeeze really reminded me of the Enigma of Amigara Fault. I know people bring up that short story all the time and I try not to compare real-life disasters with horror fiction because I do find it tasteless, but it's probably such an effective horror story *Because* it taps into whatever impulse was working in these divers.

I just got my first diving cert, and they really drill into you the importance of having a dive plan. The fact that guy in the first story just yeeted into that small opening is just unbelievable.

When he showed the map of the third and fourth chamber my first thought was "fuck everything about that"

I’m not a diver, but I can imagine the temptation to discover the secrets of these chambers. It seems that the beauty and mystery are what make this such a death trap.

EXCELLENT!!! I had been a open water instructor about a year when a divemaster friend and I made the dive. This was about a year and a half after Don Dibble got hurt. I knew Don and he was an excellent diver and instructor. I had been cave diving before so we had backup lights and a lead rope. Just as you said got to the narrow opening I took my tank off to squeeze in. Immediately the gravel started to shift down as my body blocked the flow and it silted. I got the heck out. I have been in many caves and wrecks since and over 40 years later that place still gives me chills. Dangerous is an understatement.

There should be a 'Dive at your own risk and no one will risk their lives trying to retrieve your dead body' sign and policy

Honestly, sometimes I am surprised by the stupidity of some people's decisions.

That spot would be HAUNTED AS HELL NOW. Imagine diving in seeing all these spooky spirits of dead divers beckoning you to follow them through to the 4th chamber...

Years ago i had a friend who invited me to go cave diving in Northern Florida. He had just graduated college and belonged to the diving club at school. I had just ended a 5 year relationship with my girlfriend and wasn't mentally able to join him. He borrowed a set of high pressure steel tanks from a friend of ours and off he went. A few days later I got a call from our mutual friend that had loaned him his steel tanks. He had passed away. When the entire club had made their way back to an entrance, but before they started to ascend the guide did a head count and he wasn't there. He sent everyone up and went back to look for him. He looked as long as he could, but no sign of him. He went to the surface and called a rescue in Tallahassee to head over. They searched until early morning with rebreathers until finally finding him a couple of miles from where he was last seen. I felt and still feel terrible. I keep thinking if had gone to be his dive buddy would he still be alive, or maybe I would've died along side him. 😪🙏

I just reached the 17-minute mark of this video and I'm having a hard time continuing. The idea of swimming through something the diameter of an MRI machine is giving me anxiety. It takes someone with cast iron nerves to do this. And for all you cave/wreck/scuba divers out there: may your bubbles be many and your troubles be few. Stay safe in your endeavors.

9:40 this expansion of his stomach actually serves as an effective, albeit morbid, explanation of the dangers of diving and pressure to a layman

I've been to Jacobs well about ten years ago when it was still enjoyable and not closed off to the public. It's a pleasure to experience just at the surface and admire and respect it's depths. It's astounding to me however that there are 'expert' divers who would descend into the well but not use safety lines. Like, that's an absolute safety must in my mind. Especially when you consider that there's a lot of silt that can easily blur your vision. You really need something you can rely on to guide you back up to the top in the event things go bad.

the more I listen to these cave-diving accidents, the more I'd rather leave any sort of cave-diving expierences to RU-vid

That first story with Kent and Mark is a real “Play stupid games, Win stupid Prizes” moment. Just suddenly deviating from your dive plan to go deeper into a cave while low on air is just… why…

What scares me so much about cave diving, alongside the claustrophobia and risk of drowning, is the necessity to prioritize yourself first. You're on limited air, and if you turn back to search for someone, you put yourself in danger. You know full well that if something happens, your team mates may have to abandon you for the sake of their own survival. Or your team mate may be missing but you need to return to the surface lest you risk drowning, the whole time thinking about how the conversation you had with them at the surface an hour ago would be the last time you ever talked to them. Absolutely gut wrenching.

This is just one of those situations where I'm flabbergasted that no one's put a camera on a submersible drone and explored that way with some sonar, cameras, lights... a human going down into unknown underwater caves is a literal death wish, as proven here.

This cave reminds me of the mouse trap that lures the mice in because of their insatiable curiosity, but prevents them from escaping because the exit only opens one way.

Thank God that Don was able to recover from everything and his surgeries. That's absolutely insane man.

I found myself actually saying, "oh, no," about 30 times while watching this video. During one of the first recovery attempts, where the gentleman ended up swallowing air, I was just saying, "oh, no," for 3 minutes straight. Every sentence just seemed more and more doomed. I can't imagine the pain that man went through. It may sound crazy to those that have never experienced it, but a significant amount of gas getting trapped in the stomach or intestines is one of the single most painful thinks a human being can experience. I can't imagine how strong and resilient the man going through that was to not just double over and scream underwater.

I unfortunately backed out of a weekend trip to Jacob’s Well with my nephew and his wife. They enjoyed the Well and the quaint sleeping quarters nearby, plus an eerie church on the premises. Sadly, they prohibited swimming in the well a few months later because of all the dangers that came with it. I wish I would’ve visited this natural phenomenon.

Jacobs Well is an amazing place. I free dived to the bottom of the first part which is about 25 feet straight down. Stared into where the cave starts. It was just scary being at the entrance. I can’t believe people swim inside there.

There's nothing quite like a caving/diving story to make me feel good about my life choices.

You’re the only channel on RU-vid with this type of content that has a balance of good voiceover, sticking to the facts, and a fitting creepy ambience. Subbed. 🙏

I love your diving and mountaineering videos. The writing is always clear and serious and the graphics have gotten to be absolutely stunning.

My dad used to live about a mile away from there and we used to swim in it for fun lol. Never too deep. We’d just jump off the rocks into it. The scariest part for me was the cotton mouths that were EVERYWHERE down here

Being a diver myself, I really can't see myself going into a cave that has any part narrower than at least the size of a car. It's just so easy to get stuck in squeezes doing regular spelunking, but doing those with a respirator your mouth and a tank in you hand just seems insane

🪧☠️ “STOP! Prevent your death! Go no farther! Fact: More than 300 divers, including open water scuba instructors, have died in caves just like this one. Fact: You needed training to dive. You need cave training and cave equipment to cave dive. Fact: Without cave training and equipment, divers can die here. Fact: It CAN happen to YOU! There’s nothing in this cave worth dying for! Do not go beyond this point.”

"Play stupid games, win stupid prizes."

This is incredibly well told. Graphics are fantastic too. Thanks for this. Best one I've seen.

Whoever left that message to the poor rescue diver was really just going for their Darwin Award.

There's a common theme here.... "We aren't finding/rescuing the people we lost a week ago, let's send someone else down to see what we can see..."

I found myself short of breath when you described the 4th and 5th chambers and the narrow opening.. 😲😳

I'm just so impressed and happy to see that you called it by its true name , a karst window. Here in North Florida we have the Floridian Aquifer, it has karst windows, springs, sinks, swallets , etc...but a karst window is my favorite feature of our hydrogeology.

I'm terrified of deep drop-offs in the water, never mind cave diving, so I’d be staying far away from Jacob's Well. I'm not a full-on thalassaphobe, but any place where the depth drops off steeply into darkness like that is a big NOPE.

maybe it's just because i watch a lot of these videos and am super claustrophobic, but i have no idea what would ever possess someone to dive into a dark cave and swim around when it seems like there's an 85% chance you're just gonna die in there. call me crazy

As always, editing is top notch. Thanks for taking the time to find all those relevant photos, and Ken Burn'sing the shit out of them :)

Can't imagine the desperate feeling these two hoping their worst nightmare doesn't comes true. I sure many of us has watched a situation happen. But there's nothing you could do until it was over.

"You cant keep us out" Go ahead and stack yourselves at the bottom of the 4th chamber then

Legend has it, if you keep swimming thru the entire cave, you’ll eventually reach the 36th Chamber, where members of Wu Tang will greet you.

Your detailed, expressive, concise storytelling is phenomenal. Thanks.

Love these cave stories, just discovered this channel and could listen to these all day

"You cant keep us out" well how did that work out for you? They were trying yo save lives not be a downer.

You have to either be incredibly brave or incredibly stupid to go to a place where the few people that did go explore didn't return.

"Hopefully, i will see you in the next one." Hey hey hey, wym HOPEFULLY??? 😭😭😭

The narration and voice inflection is perfect in this video. Thank you for doing such a great job narrating and putting the video together

As someone who's grown up a few minutes for the super famous Ginnie Springs in Florida, one of the most dangerous and sought after underwater caves to explore in all the world, I've seen my fair share of dead divers. In fact, it feels like they pull a body out on a weekly biases. It's become so expected for someone to die in the caves and that's sickening. Yet the next day carries on like nothing happened and you watch 300 more divers descend into the depths. I don't get this sport, I never will. It makes me sick to my stomach. Even thinking about how insanely dangerous body recovery is...cave diving has got the last thing you will ever catch me doing.

"You can't keep us out." Sounds pretty suicidal to me....

Dive Talk did a discussion on Jacob's Well. They said it really isn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be and almost all the deaths were caused by inexperienced people that were not certified for cave diving and had no business being there. They said the pros dive that cave all the time and they have it largely mapped out and there are something around 60 chambers.

man, its one thing to participate in extreme activities like cave diving, but its totally another beast to do so in a location and manner that keeps killing other people.

I will never understand in a million years the mentality of anyone that would willingly go into such a place. There's not enough money in the world that get me in any underwater cave. Nope, never, ever. Insanity to me, sheer insanity.

Cave diving is a very stupid hobby. If you do anything wrong, you are dead. If you do everything right, you might still be dead. If everything went well and you didn't die, you're rewarded for your enormous effort and risk with a view of mud at the bottom of a hole.

Great video! Really enjoyed seeing the walk through.

I've been to Jacob's Well a few times. It's a nice place to visit. The water of the river feels so cool and crisp. But you'll never EVER find me actually scuba diving into the well much less any caves. It's just insane what some people are thinking diving farther into this cave. I have a deep fear of Cave Diving so it's a nope for me. Diving from the edge a few feet is onay, but farther?! 😱 And you go Dawn for trying to prevent people from going farther into the cave! I don't blame you for doing so. 😊

sad to hear about wayne, at least with most diving tragedies you can see how they were stupid or made a bad decision at some point but he was safe, just something happened that was out of his control and we’ll never know

Did they ever find the first two bodies? I guess they didn't and they are lost down there. Cave diving is seriously the most dangerous and life threatening hobby ever - I wouldn't even put my toe in that water. Awesome video thanks Sean, really informative AND creepy. I love your style.

Jacobs Well is about 3 hrs from our house, my old man/I were on a ride & went. Not to go cave diving, but just to cliff jump, swim around and check it out. It was fun, but just looking down there freaked me the hell out. I know a lot of it had to be psychological bc of all the stories Ive seen on RU-vid.

So happy I found a new channel to binge watch, awesome graphics

As a Scuba instructor that has done thousands of dives, including a good number of cavern dives in central/north FL, I made a decision NOT to peruse cave diving. Cave diving is when you completely loose the light or glow of day. If you cave dive without cave diving specialized training and equipment, you a in extreme danger of dying. This has been proven over and over again. And even with the gear and training, you are clearly taking on more risk than recreational diving. A good bit more. I just wasn’t worth the effort, money and risk to me. I will continue to enjoy the occasional cavern dive.

. 🎶All my Ex's drowned in Texas 🎶

So thankful I found your channel! New subscriber here. These are some quality vids you're making. Keep it up!

This was great. I liked that it had multiple stories about the same cave over time, rather than just one particular story. Sorry for everyone who lost their lives, but maybe they be a warning to all of us to check our pride/confidence even in unrelated areas.

You should do more of those extreme survival stories !

The two divers who went into this cave system without a dive line won a gold-plated Darwin Award.

Man! that maps you use and draw on to show us are very very helpful :D

you did a very good presenting the story; thanks for making them.

I will never understand why anyone would ever bother risking their life to recover a fucking corpse, easily one of the stupidest reasons to die.

Lived in San Marcos right next to here, so had plenty of opportunities to go see Jacob’s Well in person, and let me tell you it’s as beautiful as it is intimidating. Knowing the history of death surrounding it, it’s especially spooky going there at sundown knowing that it’s basically a tomb.

I’ve swam there, it’s crazy how cold the water gets when you swim in the circle part versus the water around it

Wayne’s cause of death being unknown took the story to a new level. He could of had a heart attack down there but the timing makes him basically the cherry on top of this legendary cave diving story.

I'd be to panicked about limestone collapse and the fact you have to do decompression stops. Stick with an ROV camera on this one.

Man, I scuba dive, open water, and I’ve always loved it. I did once go into a small cave, it was only probably about 10m below the surface and was really just a hole inside of a big block of reef, it had a wide entrance and another way out in the other side but even THAT was enough for me to think there’s no way in hell I’d ever go into a cave such as this. The thought of getting lost, or trapped in a dark labyrinth underwater is one of the most horrifying things I can imagine, and it’s really sad to think about people who have died doing so and what their final moments must’ve been like. RIP to all those who have perished in caves. If there’s any silver lining I hope it’s that many of their deaths atleast go as a warning to others not to go in the same way.

Thank you Scary Interresting for a more vissually accurate description of this alluring deathtrap for most divers. The body of one or both diving partners whom had perrished together was recovered 20years later by geologist, not even looking for them. I read this in comments section on another yt vid a few weeks ago. Good & tastefully done as well. Just less thurough than yourvideo here.

"You can't keep us out" - what a monstrous display of the ugliness of humanity.

I'm amazed at the stupidity of some people, someone blocks off the cave because people died there and then some moron comes through removes the gate and then leaves a note that they can't keep them out. 🤦‍♂️

If removing a stop sign gets you charged with murder should someone die in that intersection, shouldn't removing safety precautions such as that gate and thereby leading to the deaths of future divers get whoever removed it charged with murder? Assuming whoever removed it isn't also dead.

I’ve swam here a handful of times and have free dived down the first chamber to the opening of the second. Never had equipment beyond a mask so I never knew how large it was beyond, although everyone who has been knows about the deaths and dangers. Randomly stumbled across this video and it gives me a new perspective on what lies deeper in the cave, crazy

Your videos are allways super good mate.. i allways get all caught up in them! 👍

This is just as terrifying as the tragic story at the Nutty Putty Cave in Utah. Very scary and so dangerous.

One of best friends is a diver and it honestly streeses me out far more than I'll ever admit to him. Sat diving and cave diving is just insane to me.

The music reminds me of water dripping in a cave. It really sets the mood.

I’ve played enough Subnautica to know how scary cave diving is, there’s even a PDA warning about it 😅

I live about half a mile from Jacob’s Well, I have great memories of swimming there in the summers before it was developed. Shame that it’s been so publicized to the point that it’s a pain to actually try to swim there now (prior to the flow stopping earlier). I really hope that when it opens back up that the city and visitors get their head out from their ass.

It’s the summer of 1969, I had just finished my open water checkout dive on Canyon Lake. My dive instructor ask me if I wanted to go to Jacobs Well for a cave dive, I said Sure. Myself, an instructor and one other diver entered the water and quickly descended to about 50’. It was beautiful, like diving in a crystal clear glass of water. Another 10’ or so we angled off into a slightly narrower passage way. The opening became small enough that I could hear my tank banging on the rock roof. As we proceeded through the narrow opening, the passageway opened up into a large room. We took out our regulators and had a brief conversation about how cool this place was and that according to our dive tables, we didn’t have much time left to get out and to the surface. We proceeded to the surface, banging our tanks and crawling on our stomachs till we finally reached the top. I remember coughing up a little blood but other than that I went on my way, not thinking much about the experience, that is until I got older. I am now 76 years old and I still have nightmares about one of most stupid things that I have ever done in my life. I think God must have been looking after a very dumb young boy because I sure didn’t have the presence of mind to know the danger I was in.

That gave me serious chills.