One scuba diver dies, two others are rescued from underwater Florida cave, cops say

One scuba diver died and two others were rescued after they ventured into one of Florida’s famously flooded caverns, according to searchers in the Panhandle.

The body was discovered Tuesday, March 18, after the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office learned at about 1:15 p.m. that the divers were overdue after entering the submerged Twin Caves near Marianna.

“Immediately, a rescue operation was initiated. As a result, two divers made it out of the caves safely,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

“Sadly the operation led to the recovery of a third diver that was deceased.”

The three divers from Florida were exploring the cave as a group, officials said. Their identities have not been released.

A medical examiner is working to determine the deceased diver’s cause of death, officials said.

Twin Caves, about a 65-mile drive northwest of Tallahassee, is a popular diving destination at the bottom of Merritt’s Mill Pond, according to Caveatlas.com.

The site has two openings, one that is 18.5 feet below the surface, and they’re covered in “clear, light blue water,” the atlas reports.

Cave passages extend hundreds of feet below the pond, and continue to drop to deeper levels, Cave Adventures says.

This story was originally published March 19, 2025 at 10:25 AM with the headline "One scuba diver dies, two others are rescued from underwater Florida cave, cops say."