Edd Sorenson (born 1959) is a

cave diver Cave-diving is underwater diving in water-filled caves. It may be done as an extreme sport, a way of exploring flooded caves for scientific investigation, or for the search for and recovery of divers or, as in the 2018 Thai cave rescue, other ...

known for numerous rescues of lost or trapped divers in underwater caves in the United States, particularly in Florida's Vortex Spring and Blue Spring State Park. Sorenson has been credited as the only diver with multiple successful rescues in completely submerged caves. He is one of the most experienced body recovery divers in the world. Sorenson is originally from

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

and moved to

Marianna, Florida Marianna is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Florida, United States, and it is home to Chipola College, part of the state's public system. The official nickname of Marianna is "The City of Southern Charm". The population was 6,24 ...

where he owns Cave Adventurers dive center. KISS Rebreathers referred to Sorenson as a "top instructor." His students have included hosts of '' Jonathan Bird's Blue World'' and the YouTube channel "Dive Talk," with both programs having featured Sorenson. Sorenson has explored caves with Brian Kakuk.

Career

Sorenson began diving in 1995 and within a few years expanded to

cave diving Cave-diving is underwater diving in water-filled caves. It may be done as an extreme sport, a way of exploring flooded caves for scientific investigation, or for the underwater search and recovery, search for and recovery of divers or, as in th ...

. In 1999, he joined International Underwater Cave Rescue and Recovery (IUCRR) as one of the original members and in 2003 founded Cave Adventurers dive center in Marianna, Florida near Florida Caverns State Park. In 2012, Sorenson completed four successful underwater cave rescues. Due to his experience with the Vortex Spring cave system, Sorenson was involved in the 2010 search for missing diver Ben McDaniel. After an extensive search, Sorenson believed that McDaniel was not trapped in the cave because of lack of evidence and disturbance to the cave commonly seen after a diver passes through. He stated, "The last place I searched was pristine, without a mark that a diver had been there. It would be impossible to go through that restriction without making a mark on the floor or ceiling. He's not in there." In February 2019 Sorenson, along with Mike Young, successfully conducted two body recoveries from Dudú Lagoon in the Dominican Republic. In April 2019 Sorenson successfully rescued Josh Bratchley, a British cave diver who assisted in the

rescue Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, removal from danger, liberation from restraint, or the urgent treatment of injury, injuries after an incident. It may be facilitated by a range of tools and equipm ...

of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a Thai cave, from Mill Pond Cave in Flynn's Lick, Tennessee.

Awards and recognition

For his efforts in 2012, Sorenson was awarded the Diver’s Alert Network Hero Award, Heroic Merit Awards and the Instructor Trainer of the Year from the Professional Scuba Association International (PSAI). He was featured in the

Duracell Duracell Inc. is an American manufacturer of alkaline batteries, specialty cells, and rechargeables; it is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway since 2016. The company has its origins in the 1920s, through the work of Samuel Ruben a ...

series ''Quantum Heroes''. National Speleological Society Cave Diving Section (NSS-CDS) presented Sorenson with the Life Saving Award in 2013. In 2019, the organization presented him with the Lifetime Achievement Award. An award was named the “Edd Sorenson Life Saving Award” after him. Sorenson received the NAUI Albert Pierce medal for heroism and the Lifesaving medal from the Royal Order of St. John. Congressman Neal Dunn recognized Sorenson on the floor of the

US House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

for his rescues and recoveries.

Personal life

Sorenson has stated that he battled cancer in the 2020s.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sorenson, Edd 1959 births Living people American cavers American underwater divers Cave diving explorers People from Portland, Oregon