Ignoring a warning from their father that a dive through the underground Dry Creek Siphon of Lehi's Murdock Canal would be dangerous, and multiple "no trespassing" and "Warrning" signs the men set off for what would be the last of their many adventures.

The siphon is an irrigation tunnel which channels water across a ravine that is about 1,200 feet wide.

The siphon allows the water to continue across changing elevations by pulling the water out the other side. The concrete tube -- 9 feet in diameter -- runs down the sides of the ravine at various angles to a depth of 96 feet and crosses the ravine floor.

When the boys had not returned home their father called the search and rescue teams. They arrived at the north end of the siphon to assess the conditions of the water and the possibilities of a rescue. None of the divers, some with more than 20 years experience, were willing to enter the siphon until it was drained. The water at that time had about three feet of visibility and was about 60 degrees, according to search and rescue member Kevin Dickerson.

After taking more than eight hours to drain, search crews entered the empty siphon and found the bodies several hundred feet from the entrance and about 150 feet apart from each other.

These men made a couple huge mistakes: 1-Not listening to their father's advice. 2-Not listening to the posted warning signs. 3-Not following any of the known and practicced safty rules for such a dive:

"To do this safely, you would have to have a complete back-up system," said Chris Reed of Utah County Search and Rescue. Reed said the brothers' dive would classify as a cave dive requiring two sets of breathing equipment for each diver, extra lighting and a rope system to use as a guide.

It would also classify as a deep dive Reed explained, even though the men were swimming in 9 feet of water, the pressure from the water on the ascending sides of the siphon make the conditions the same as diving in 100 feet of open water.

That pressure further compresses the air divers breathe from a back-mounted tank and would allow a typical diver to stay at that depth for only about 15 minutes."

Police said that at least two other deaths are associated with the open portion of the canal which is a popular place to swim during the summer, despite clearly-marked warnings of the danger and posted "no trespassing" signs, said Cannon.

***I also knew them personally

Submitted on 06/03/2010

Submitted by: mike
Reference: http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Oct/10032003/utah/98195.asp October 1st, 2003

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Bruce said:
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This article is so old that we wouldn't even have it in our archives, and the referenced link is also unavailable. But going scuba diving in an underground irrigation tunnel without understanding the risks is extremely stupid. Here's a similar article I found with a bit more detail: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/38177-two-brothers-die-lehi-utah.html

Candi said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
Considerong PROFESSIONAL divers didn't want to go in... STU-PID I-DI-OTS!!!!!!!!!

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