Casefile Archives 10: Ben McDaniel

Casefile Archives 10: Ben McDaniel

Author: Casefile Presents May 16, 2026 Duration: 1:12:39

On Friday, August 20 2010, officers from the Holmes County Sheriff's Department were called to Vortex Spring, a commercially operated dive park just outside the Florida town of Ponce de Leon. A 30-year-old scuba diver from Tennessee by the name of Ben McDaniel had failed to resurface after diving into the narrow cave network under the basin of the spring two nights earlier, and nobody had seen or heard from him since. 


When a recovery mission failed to find any sign of Ben, his loved ones and members of the cave diving community were left in shock. Was Ben stuck in an unexplored part of the cave somewhere, or was something else entirely at play?


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Casefile Archives is a series of special bonus releases revisiting the earliest years of the show. The re-run episodes have been completely edited, polished, re-recorded and freshly produced from start to finish to match our current production standards. They are not complete rewrites - our goal wasn’t to alter the cases or reshape the writing, but to preserve the original storytelling while giving the production the refinement it didn’t have when we started the show back in 2016. 


Where appropriate, updates have been added, but the core structure and storytelling remain faithful to the originals. Because of this, these re-releases may sound a little different to our recent episodes, but they allow us to bring some of the earliest episodes up to the technical quality listeners expect today.


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Narration – Anonymous Host

Research & writing – Elsha McGill 

Production & music – Mike Migas

Audio editing – Anthony Telfer


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The stark reality of criminal investigations often proves more unsettling than any crafted story. Casefile True Crime meticulously explores this territory, presenting deeply researched narratives of solved and unsolved cases from around the globe. Each episode is a comprehensive audio documentary, structured with a deliberate and respectful tone that focuses on the facts, the timeline of events, and the human impact at the core of every story. This approach creates an immersive experience, allowing the details to unfold without sensationalism. The podcast, presented by Casefile Presents, delves into a wide spectrum of incidents, from historical mysteries that have shaped forensic science to contemporary investigations that challenge legal systems. Listeners will hear a thorough examination of police procedures, courtroom dynamics, and the often-overlooked perspectives of those affected. The narration is clear and focused, prioritizing factual accuracy and narrative cohesion to build a complete picture of each case. It’s a show for those who appreciate detail-oriented storytelling within the true crime genre, where the priority is understanding the sequence and significance of events rather than speculative commentary. The result is a consistently engaging and sobering look at the complexities of crime and its lasting repercussions on society and culture. For supporters seeking an ad-free experience and additional content like bonus Q&A sessions and the exclusive ‘Behind the Files’ series, a premium subscription is available.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Casefile True Crime
Podcast Episodes
Casefile Archives 8: The Tunstall Family [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:23
*** Content Warning: Child victims***On September 15 2006, detectives began investigating the sexual assault of 24-year-old Tiffany Hall from East St. Louis, Illinois. The assault had caused Tiffany to miscarry her 7-mon…
Casefile Archives 7: Nicky Fleming [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:22
*** Content Warning: Crime against a child ***In 1998, the Easter holiday in Victoria, Australia, got off to a tragic beginning when 12-year-old Nicky Fleming was killed in a car accident while travelling to a family cam…
Casefile Archives 6: The Eriksson Twins [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:39
*** Content Warning: Self-harm ***On May 17 2008, Swedish twin sisters Ursula and Sabina Eriksson boarded a bus from Liverpool to London. After a routine road stop, the bus driver noticed the twins were acting suspicious…
Casefile Archives 5: Lauria Bible & Ashley Freeman [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:39
*** Content Warning: child victims ***Oklahoma teenager Ashley Freeman celebrated her sixteenth birthday by inviting her best friend, Lauria Bible, over for a sleepover. It was a pleasant yet uneventful evening, until th…
Casefile Archives 4: Mirna Salihin [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:24:57
When school friends Jessica Wongso and Mirna Salihin caught up for coffee in Jakarta’s upscale Olivier Cafe in January 2016, it was supposed to be a friendly get together. Then, moments after taking a sip from her Vietna…
Casefile Archives 3: Tina Herrmann, Kody Maynard & Stephanie Sprang [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:08:26
*** Content Warnings: Sexual assault, child sexual assault, arson, animal cruelty ***When 32-year-old Tina Herrmann didn’t show up for work on Wednesday, November 10 2010, her manager immediately alerted the authorities.…
Casefile Archives 2: The Somerton Man [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:39
In December 1948, the body of an unidentified male was found on Somerton Beach in Adelaide, South Australia. It initially appeared the man had simply passed away in his sleep, but as police looked into his death, they di…
Casefile Archives 1: The Wanda Beach Murders [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:17:00
*** Content Warning: child victims, child sexual assault ***On January 11, 1965, 15-year-old Christine Sharrock and Marianne Schmidt spent the day at Cronulla Beach with Marianne's four younger siblings. After lunch, the…
Searching For Sarah MacDiarmid - Episode 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:11
With Casefile on a short break, we thought this would be a great time to shine a light on some of the shows that may have flown under the radar for many of you. These are shows we've put our hearts into and are really pr…
The Vanishing of Vivienne Cameron - Episode 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:40
With Casefile on a short break, we thought this would be a great time to shine a light on some of the shows that may have flown under the radar for many of you. These are shows we've put our hearts into and are really pr…