Record-Breaking U.S. Diver, 56, Dies Exploring Vast Underwater Cave in Texas

"Please allow us some time to come to terms with his loss, as up until now we have been focused on the recovery,” his co-diver, Andy Pitkin, wrote in a statement

A renowned cave diver, who set multiple cave diving records throughout his lifetime, has died while exploring one of the deepest underwater caves in the U.S.

Brett Hemphill set off on an expedition in the Phantom Springs Cave in Texas on Oct. 4. His body was recovered on Sunday, after he failed to return with his colleague Andy Pitkin, per a statement from Karst Underwater Research (KUR), a nonprofit founded by Hemphill. He was 56.

The nonprofit underwater exploration group said Hemphill had been on a dive with fellow diver and KUR’s director, Pitkin. They set off around 10:45 a.m. on the morning of Oct. 4 to explore the cave "starting in 450 feet of water at about 7300 feet of penetration.”

KUR said he was last seen on video tying off a guideline at approximately 570 feet before the team became separated. Hemphill never resurfaced.

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Following the dive, the team’s focus was on recovering him safely “from a depth of over 450 feet and over a mile into the underwater cave.” The statement noted that “cave diver recoveries are logistically difficult,” and recovering Hemphill would take “a number of recovery divers” traveling to the caves to assist in finding him.

Divers finally recovered his body from the cave on Sunday, four days after he initially dived underwater.

“We finished recovering Brett from the cave this evening,” Pitkin said in a statement posted to KUR’s social media late Sunday night. “Thank you to everyone who has contributed in any way.”

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“When we have got all the information and analyzed it, we will issue a statement about the incident that will answer everyone's questions,” he continued. “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.”

Hemphill had a passion for discovery at a young age, having explored an undiscovered section of a cave during a youth dry cave excursion, according to his biography on the KUR website.  From there, he went on to lead several exploration groups and broke a number of underwater diving records.

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In 2008, he broke the United States deep underwater cave record at Weeki Wachee Springs in the state of Florida. In 2014, his team also made the deepest connection between two underwater caves in the United States, the Weeki Wachee and Twin Dees caves.

He also explored and researched caves in cities around the world, including the Bahamas, Cay Sal Banks, Dominican Republic and the Yucatan Peninsula.

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