Brothers Die While Diving in Old Mine

The discovery ended an anxious overnight vigil for family and friends, who waited for a trained cave diver to lead the search. The two men were reported missing Sunday by a friend who had refused to follow them into the water.

Sheriff's divers said they found Nicholas, 23, and Glenn Anderson, 18, of Santa Ana near each other in branching channels about 600 feet from the mine's entrance. The two were floating in about 10 feet of water.

"They dove in a hole, and they just didn't come back," their mother, Terry Kling, told reporters.

The century-old complex known as the Blue Light Mine has been a magnet for hikers and teenagers, even though federal forestry officials deemed it a serious safety hazard.

Authorities said the air in the shaft where the brothers were found contained just 4% oxygen and a collection of as-yet-unknown gases.

"The water went from a few inches to waist-deep to deep," said sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino. "The water is jet-black. There's zero visibility. It would be very easy to become disoriented."

The brothers and the friend, Matt Murphy, 17, hiked up rugged Pine Canyon on Sunday afternoon to explore the abandoned 19th century mines in the mountains above the former boomtown of Silverado.

After entering the Blue Light's labyrinth of tunnels, they encountered water in the tight chamber. The Andersons kept going; Murphy did not.

"[Murphy] said, 'I'm not jumping in--you're crazy,' " Amormino said.

Murphy waited about two hours, but never heard from the brothers, who were described as strong swimmers and experienced cavers. Murphy then hiked down the mountain and phoned authorities, who began searching the area about 7 p.m. and stayed throughout the night.

But it wasn't until Monday morning that a cave-diving specialist from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department could be flown in. He and six other Los Angeles and Orange County sheriff's divers entered the inky underground pool and, using lights, found the Andersons in 30 minutes.

The brothers were wearing shorts and T-shirts and "had no special equipment on them," said Jim Slikker, an Orange County sheriff's diver.