Father & Son Found Dead After Testing Their Christmas Gifts

Hi everyone! I’ve been a certified SCUBA diver for about 16 years now. I’m also a true crime/unsolved mysteries fan and love listening to podcasts. I took all three interests and combined them into one!

Narcosis: Into the Deep is a new type of investigative podcast focusing on scuba diving and marine accidents and death. The best part is you don’t need to know anything about diving or boating to enjoy the podcast/post!

below, you’ll find the transcript the episode titled “Father & Son Found Dead After Testing Their Christmas Gifts" but I do hope you’ll subscribe to my audio podcast and listen each week as a new diving or marine accident will be presented along with the facts or theories on what caused the event. Listen here: https://www.narcosispod.com

TL;DR is at the end

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Early Christmas Morning, December 25th, 2013, Darrin Spivey and his teenage son, Dillon Sanchez, anxiously head out to the Eagles Nest Sinkhole to test out the brand near dive gear they got for Christmas.

Hours pass and Darrin’s fiancé, Holly, is unable to reach the pair. Growing more and more anxious, she finally calls local authorities and reports the two as missing.

What happened to Darrin and Dillon? Found out on this week’s episode of Narcosis: Into The Deep.

[intro music]

Hi everyone, I’m your host Alex and welcome back to another episode of Narcosis: Into the Deep. This week I’m covering a story that’s really close to my hometown. About 45 minutes north of where I grew up is an area called Weeki Wachee. It’s a very popular location: Weeki Watchee Springs State Park offers a great way for visitors to cool off in the cold spring waters during the hot summer months. You can see mermaid shows, rent kayaks and paddleboards, and, if you’re lucky, you’ll be greeted by some manatees swimming through the rivers.
Fun fact: I actually got to dive inside the mermaid’s tank when doing my scuba certification course. At 11-years-old, nothing was cooler than being allowed inside where the mermaids swam!

[Pictured: map of Eagles Nest Sinkhole]

Directly north of Weeki Wachee, you’ll find one of Florida’s most notorious caves: the Eagle’s Nest Sinkhole. From the shore it looks like an ordinary pond, but beneath the surface, it’s shaped like a sink with a long, rocky drain that descends into a system of underwater passages reaching a depth of 300ft (91.4m).

Since 1981, at least 11 people have died while diving in this cave. From 1999 to 2003, there was a ban at Eagle Nest making it illegal to dive at the location. However, cave divers lobbied to have it reopened. If you visit this area today, you’ll notice multiple warning signs. A large sign is above ground, near the surface of the water and states “Cave diving in this area is extremely dangerous – even life threatening! Do not dive unless you are a certified cave diver!!”. Underwater, a plaque with a similar message is posted alongside a picture of a grim reaper.

[Pictured: warning sign posted outside the entrance to Eagles Nest Sinkhole]

But on December 25th, 2013, the underwater plaque had not yet been installed and Darrin and his son Dillion entered the cold spring waters, excited to use their new equipment. They arrived to the site and a hunter in the area saw them suiting up at about 11am. When the hunter returned later at about 6:30pm, he noticed the diver’s car was still there.

By 7pm, Holly hadn’t heard from her fiancé, Darrin, and was growing more and more worried. Since Holly isn’t a diver, she called some of her friends and family, letting them know she hadn’t heard from Darrin or Dillion yet. “Should I be worried?” she asked them. She’s tried calling them multiple times but they haven’t picked up at all.

Finally, at about 7:30pm, Holly called 911. She drove over the wildlife refuge and noticed Darrin’s car still parked in the lot.

Hernando County Sheriff’s Office responded to the call by sending out certified underwater emergency recovery divers Eric Deister, Robert Brooks, and Matthew Vinzant. The search began around 8:30pm and not long after, the bodies of the two missing divers were found.

[Pictured: Aerial view of Eagles Nest Sinkhole]

Darrin Spivey was found at a depth of 127ft (38.7m) and his 15-year-old son Dillion Sanchez was found at 67ft (20.4m).

After recovering their bodies, the investigation in the pair’s dive computers and gauges revealed that they had dove to a depth of about 233ft (71m) where they ran out of air. Dillion had apparently run out of air first because his father had deployed a long breathing hose that allowed his son to breath from his tank.

Robert Brooks, one of the recovery divers and a friend of Darrin’s, said it appeared as though the two were racing to get back to their spare tanks which were placed at a depth of about 130ft (39.6m) and nearly made it. Darrin’s body came to rest next to those tanks.

But just because they reached the spare tanks, doesn’t mean they were home free just yet.

[Pictured: Darrin Spivey, 35, left, and Dillion Sanchez, 15, right]

Because of the depth they'd reached, the pair would have needed about an hour to decompress, rising slowly enough so the air didn't form bubbles in their blood. They didn't appear to have adequate air in their tanks for that process, Robert said.

Not only did the father-son duo not plan for enough air, they faced another deadly problem: at the depth they were diving at, they should have been using some form of trimix air but instead they were only using simple compressed air.

As I’ve talked about before on previous episodes, if you plan to dive deep, not only do you need the proper qualifications and trainings, but you need the right air mixture. Normal compressed air consists of about 21% oxygen and 79% nitrogen.

With this normal, compressed air, oxygen toxicity can occur if you dive past 180ft (~55m) deep and therefore a special air mixture is needed and it's often referred to as Trimix. There are different variations of Trimix, and they all contain the same amount or less oxygen than normal, compressed air that shallow recreational divers use. This Trimix air has a pretty self-explanatory name, because it contains a third gas: helium.

Helium is an inert gas meaning it doesn't react with our bodies they way oxygen or nitrogen does. Trimix comes in different variations, but the most commonly used one is a 21/35, meaning 21% oxygen, 35% helium, and 44% nitrogen.

Deep diving on normal, compressed air becomes dangerous after 180ft (~55m) because oxygen becomes toxic. If order to reach even deeper parts, like the deepest section of the Eagle’s Nest Sinkhole, divers might want to a 10/70 mixture, meaning 10% oxygen, 70% helium, and 20% nitrogen. Without this special mixture on deep dives, divers are prey to oxygen toxicity and nitrogen narcosis. But just as a reminder, divers will need to complete numerous tec courses in order to be able use this type of air mixture.

But unfortunately, this father-son duo did *not* have the qualifications necessary to do this kind of dive.

[Pictured: Darrin Spivey, 35, left, and Dillion Sanchez, 15, right]

Darrin’s fiancé, Holly King, told reporters that “The top thing on their minds was safety. They never pushed it. Darrin loved his family and loved his kids and wouldn't risk anything.”

But I find this very hard to believe.

I apologize, because I try to keep my personal opinions out of these episodes/cases as much as possible, but what you’re about to find out directly opposes what Holly says.

Although Darrin had been a certified diver for 9 years prior to his death, he was *NOT* a certified cave diver.

On top of that, to make matters worse, Darrin’s 15-year-old son, Dillion...
wasn’t
even
certified
at
all

[Pictured: Dillion Sanchez, 15]

According to Dillion’s mother, Sylvia, Darrin spent hours going over dive manuals with Dillion, spending time in the pool together, and planned to get Dillion certified. But at the time of his death, Dillion had never completed an appropriate diving course.

[Pictured: Warning sign posted outside the entrance to Eagles Nest Sinkhole]

I want you to think about rock climbing, sky diving, or any other kind of thrill-seeking hobby. I’m sure you would agree that these hobbies can be very, very dangerous – especially if you don’t know what you’re doing. But with proper training, you can help reduce those risks.

Scuba diving is no different.

When this incident occurred, it sparked fury in the diving community.

Majority of divers are safe and would never even think about going beyond their limits. But, just like with anything else, there are a few outliers. Those are the ones that get themselves killed. And unfortunately, in this case, he took his son down with him.

Brett Hemphill, who is the president of Karst Underwater Research group, says “Whenever there’s a cave diving fatality, the general public will go, ‘Oooh, I would never do that! So close it.’”

A Change.org petition on this location stated: “How many more lives need to be lost for this place to be closed?”

Dr. Andrew Pitkin, one of Brett’s colleagues at the Karst Underwater Research group says, “It’s natural to want to blame something - ‘the evil cave’ - for what happened. But it’s not appropriate, any more than it’s appropriate to blame a mountain someone falls off. They say 'It’s a mountain, what do you expect?’ It’s like a stroll in the park for us, really. If you know what you’re doing, it’s as safe as any other cave.”
The problem, they say, is few divers really do know what they’re doing. Caves are not simply “next level” dives for the scuba-certified. The overhead environment of a cave like Eagle's Nest means there is only one way out. That exit can be hard to find, even with a guide wire.

The caves are pitch black. And while some portions are so narrow divers must squeeze through, other sections are large enough to drive a tractor-trailer through. They are also full of rushing water, with currents strong enough that divers sometimes use underwater scooters to help pull themselves along. Every finstroke can kick up silt, turning the crystal-clear caves into blinding paths.

“We have a healthy fear of the environment,” Dr. Pitkin says. “Fear may be a strong word, but profound respect.”

I try to stress the safety aspects in this podcast as much as possible. Scuba diving is safe if you know what you’re doing, you’ve received the proper training, and you don’t exceed your limits. Sometimes you have to swallow your pride – or adventurous needs – if you’re not feeling well. If you didn’t sleep right, you’re exhausted, you didn’t eat or drink well the night before… You need to listen to your body and make the call.

But on top of it all, you need to be properly trained. You need to right equipment, the right gas.

Darrin and Dillion didn’t have the right training or the right air. They should have never entered the caves.

I love diving and I recommend anyone and everyone who’s healthy enough to go get certified. With proper training, you’ll be aware of all potential issues and know how to avoid or correct them. Please don’t let stories like this one, about inexperienced and unqualified divers, scare you away from diving.

There are plenty of great things to see within 30ft (9m) under the surface. You don’t need to go on these deep, dark caves to have a great experience.

Cat Tax.

If you made it this far, thank you for your time and support! If you have any questions, please leave a comment here, on our Instagram or discord server:

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Sources:

1. https://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/hernando-county-authorities-searching-wildlife-refuge-for-missing-divers/2158541/
2. https://www.foxnews.com/us/florida-dad-teen-son-found-dead-in-scuba-diving-accident-testing-out-christmas-gifts
3. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/10/18/stop-prevent-your-death-said-sign-at-fla-underwater-cave-these-experienced-divers-ignored-it/
4. https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/hernandocounty/new-rules-for-eagles-nest-cave-taking-effect-this-summer-may-have-saved-diver/67-576430185
5. https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/beautiful-but-deadly-divers-fight-to-keep-floridas-underwater-mt-everest-open/95-396724366
6. https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/beautiful-but-deadly-divers-fight-to-keep-floridas-underwater-mt-everest-open/95-396724366

TL;DR: Darrin Spivey (father) and Dillion Sanchez (son) entered the cold spring waters at Eagles Nest Sinkhole in Brooksville, FL on Chirstmas morning, around 11am, to test out the new gear they got as gifts. When they were unable to be reached, Darrin's fiance called local authorities and reported them missing. Shortly after searches began at 8:30pm, their bodies were found. They pair did not have the proper training or gas for the deep dive they performed. They ran out of air and drowned during the dive. Although Darrin was a certified diver, he was not a certified cave diver and his son, Dillion, wasn't even certified at all... Please make sure you receive proper training before diving, and never go past your limits. You can listen to this entire post here: https://www.narcosispod.com