McFaden release his hammer-lock grasp on his manifold. It was clear that McFaden was unconscious and gone. Through the sheer chaos, Gavin and Main began to gather their wits. Though breathing, Gavin was not convinced that he would make it out of the cave alive.
Main took Gavin back to the edge of the balcony and clearer water though Gavin did not want to go further into the cave. They got the regulators back in proper order for sharing air. Main began pulling Gavin out through the restriction with minutes feeling like hours. Now outside the restriction, the two cave divers reached their decompression and oxygen bottles. They began their very long decompression and the beginning thought process, of the mental and physical horror that just took place.
The following is what Bill Gavin wrote in 2003 about the accident after being attacked on the Internet by a well known cave diving personality.
" I previously wrote a detailed account of the 1988 dive that resulted in Bill McFaden’s death. It was published somewhere, shortly thereafter, though I don’t recall where. I’m sure it can be located on the internet by those that are interested. At the time of McFaden’s death George Irvine was years away from becoming involved with cave diving or the WKPP and in my view had no business commenting on it. I was solo diving on my scooter in a different part of Little Dismal than Bill Main and Bill McFaden. I was in a very tight downstream siphon and didn’t want anyone behind me. Main and McFaden, who were swimming, had gone to survey about two hundred feet of line that McFaden and I had laid a week or two before. On the day of McFaden’s death I had finished my dive and was on my way out when Bill Main signaled me from the downstream section. George incorrectly (and rather callously) stated that McFaden’s buddy (Main) “left him”. Main had emerged from a low silty area thinking McFaden was right behind him. He turned and waited for McFaden, but McFaden did not come. At this time he had only been waiting a few seconds and did not think there was a problem, but wanted me to hang out just in case. I got a bad feeling and some instinct made me elect to enter the area. I found McFaden within 100 feet off the guideline and not moving. I led him out and just as we emerged into clearer water he signaled out of gas. Keep in mind, McFaden has been missing for one to two minutes and is already out of gas? I gave him my long hose and I could hear him breathing like a horse and knew he was scared. .........