Located in Hays County, Texas, about an hour
outside of Austin, is a submerged sinkhole fed by a natural spring known as Jacob's Well. The well draws both those looking for some
cool water to splash around in, and adrenaline junkies willing to risk it all for the thrill
of exploration. If you dive deep into the sinkhole, you'll
find an underwater cave system whose siren song has led multiple divers to their deaths. According to Heather Alexander of the Houston
Chronicle, at least a dozen divers have died attempting to explore the cave system, which
can be accessed about 100 feet down the sink hole. Alexander spoke to Don Dibble, a diver local
to Hays County, who has assisted in searches for missing explorers in the cave system. Explaining why so many people have risked
their lives at Jacob's Well, Dibble said, "It was the forbidden fruit, the allure of
doing something dangerous." Or as Patrick Swayze's Bodhi put it in Point
Break, "If you want the ultimate, you gotta be willing
to pay the ultimate price." Unlike Bodhi, though, there's nothing sexy
about the tragedies at Jacob's Well. On September 9th, 1979 a group of friends
from California arrived at Jacob's Well for a diving excursion. It was almost midnight, but as the group set
up their tents two of them, 20 year old Kent Maupin and 21 year old Mark Brashier, decided
they wanted to squeeze in a quick dive before bed. Despite the late hour, there were other divers
at the site who saw the two men descend to the depths of the well and maneuver themselves
through the tight opening to the cave's deepest chamber, which required them to take off their
oxygen tanks and pull them in separately. It was reported that one of the divers who
witnessed the two disappear into the chamber noted that the men didn't have backup lights
or a safety line. He said he attempted to get their attention
by flashing his own light at them, but that they didn't acknowledge his warning. Neither man resurfaced. Rescue divers, including Don Dibble, spent
weeks attempting to recover their bodies, but were unable to traverse the treacherous
passage that had kept the men trapped at the bottom of Jacob's Well. After his efforts to recover Maupin and Brashier's
bodies Dibble installed a grate over the entrance to the cave system in an attempt to keep more
people from risking their lives. However, when he made a subsequent dive to
check on the barrier several months later the grate had been removed and a note left
that read, quote, "You can't keep us out." Maupin and Brashier are just two of the many
who have lost their lives in Jacob's Well. Maupin, at least, was an experienced diver
who had been at it since he was 12 and was already a certified dive instructor. What about the well is so hazardous that it
claims the lives of even experienced divers? In a 2001 article on Visit Wimberley, author
Louie Bond laid out the various difficulties of navigating the cave system. In addition to extremely narrow passageways
between the various chambers, Bond also refers to a, quote, "false chimney," of which he
says, "[it] appears to be a way out of the well
but has trapped at least one diver." In deeper caverns, tight spaces combined with
gravel and silt flooring can make visibility a major issue, particularly if the divers
aren't careful not to stir up the loose material. A more serious grate has been installed to
keep non-authorized divers from the temptation of exploring the dangerous depths of the well,
but it didn't prevent 21 year old diver Diego Adame from near catastrophe in 2015. Adame was doing a free dive and had descended
to around 100 feet when one of his flippers came off, greatly reducing his mobility. With his adrenaline surging and his lungs
screaming for oxygen Adame made the decision to leave the lost piece of equipment and try
to surface with just one flipper. Thankfully for Adame, his dive training kicked
in and he managed to remain calm and focused. He surfaced just as his body began to run
out of oxygen and avoided becoming another casualty of Jacob's Well. Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, even more Grunge videos about your favorite
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It's likely to be royalty free background music I imagine