Spelunk 
2003 Reader Submission
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Divers Find Bodies Of Brothers
Brothers Hoped To Swim Past Flooded Part Of Mine
UPDATED: 3:43 p.m. PDT June 24, 2002
IRVINE, Calif. -- Brothers exploring a flooded, abandoned mine tried to swim deeper into the shaft, but died in the murky, gas-clogged water, sheriff's deputies said Monday after retrieving the bodies of the two hikers.
Nicholas Anderson, 23, and Glenn Anderson, 18, both of Tustin, died in the mine shaft in the Cleveland National Forest. Their bodies were retrieved by special cave divers who work for the sheriff's departments in Orange and Los Angeles counties.
"They dove in a hole and they just didn't come back," Terry Kling, the brothers' mother, said as she waited for word about her sons at the sheriff's command post at the end of Silverado Canyon Road. The family left in tears when the bodies were found.
"The conditions were extremely dangerous. The water had zero visibility. The oxygen level inside the cave was around 4 percent," Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department.
The brothers and a third young man were walking along a hiking trail Sunday when they spotted the mine around 3 p.m. Sunday, sheriff's Lt. Greg Russell said. They found their way blocked by water about 100 feet inside the shaft, Lt. Colin Murphy said.
The brothers, experienced swimmers and cave explorers, dove into the water in hopes they could swim past the flooded portion, Murphy said. The third member of the trio stayed behind and waited about two hours for his friends. When they didn't return, he went for help.
The mine, about 70 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, is in a rugged section of the forest with the nearest road about five miles away.
"Cave diving is a specialty. It is a high-risk maneuver," said Amormino, explaining there is no light, the water is muddy and it is easy to become disoriented. Submitted on 06/24/2002
Submitted by:
Corey
Reference:
msnbc.com 24 June, 2002
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