Canal Diving `Intimidating' -- Two Bodies Are Recovered From Siphon

ZILLAH, Yakima County - The search for two missing Roza Irrigation District divers ended late yesterday when their bodies were recovered from frigid water at the bottom of a deep, cavelike canal siphon.

But other than the bodies of Marty Rhode of Zillah and John Eberle of Grandview, Yakima County, missing since Saturday, the half-mile underground siphon yielded little more than darkness, echoes and questions.

Yakima County Search and Rescue officials said they had no new clues why the underground siphon, used as a dump for stolen cars, turned into a death trap that killed three and left one in a coma.

"We're still dealing with a lot of unknowns," said Sheriff Doug Blair.

Charlie "J.R." Mestaz, 37, one of two rescue divers deployed to find Rhode and Eberle, remained in critical condition and on life support at Providence Yakima Medical Center. His longtime diving partner, Rusty Hauber, 34, drowned Saturday.

Investigators are trying to unravel what happened during the rescue attempt, when Mestaz and Hauber apparently ran out of air on their way to the surface - their searchlights visible from the surface as they ascended.

Yesterday, those at the siphon included diving experts and friends of the victims. The experts speculated the men might have miscalculated the amount of air needed or had faulty gear or perhaps tried to surface too quickly.

"Obviously, something was missing or something wasn't followed," said Dan Foley, crew leader of Kennewick-based Columbia Basin Dive and Rescue, a specialized diving crew picked to find the divers.

But people acquainted with the dead divers dismissed such conjecture. They said all four were highly experienced, careful about checking equipment and obvious risk.

Hauber, a Yakima firefighter for the past three years, was "the best. He did a lot of the (fire department's) training for things like quick water rescue," said friend and fellow firefighter Rod Vetsch.

Although Hauber may have been one of the most experienced divers in Central Washington, no one at the canal knew whether he was experienced with a deep, dark and enclosed environment like the siphon.

Depth gauges carried by the divers showed they had descended 100 feet, the siphon's deepest point. Their aluminum tanks had been drained.

Training and lake diving might not have been enough, according to members of the Kennewick dive team, which specializes in rescues in confined spaces underwater.

"There's a big difference here," said diver Mark Allen, who along with Neil Hines found Rhode and Eberle. "This is like being in a hole with your eyes closed and only one way in and one way out."

An independent Pierce County diving-investigation team took photos inside the siphon and inspected equipment used by Eberle and Rhode, but did not comment.

The reinforced concrete siphon is one of seven in the 72,000-acre Roza Irrigation District.

Without them, construction of the main canal would have been more expensive and less efficient and would have exposed farmers to interrupted water supplies, according to federal Bureau of Reclamation officials.

Brian Person, the bureau's Yakima field-office manager, said the north Zillah siphon, known as Siphon 4, is 2,210 feet long and 100 feet below the surface at its lowest point. The siphon opening is 13 feet in diameter and has a capacity to carry water at the rate of 1,100 cubic feet per second.

"These siphons have served their purpose but are terribly dangerous while in operation," Person said. "People should stay away from them.

Authorities said the tragedy might have been averted if Rhode, 33, and Eberle, 42, had entered the siphon on its east end. Instead, they entered through the west side with steel cables they were going to secure to the cars.

When they didn't surface after an hour, Roza employees called for help. No backup divers were at the scene.

Sheriff Blair said the men thought the twisted wreckage of three cars was trapped in the deepest portion of the siphon, which descends one side of a canyon before leveling out for about 400 feet and ascending the canyon's other side.

However, the cars were actually near the east mouth, submerged in only a few feet of water, Blair said.

The three vehicles were pulled out yesterday afternoon. Roza officials said it was the first time since its construction in 1939 that the siphon had been drained.

Retrieving the bodies took most of the day. First, firefighters rappelled into the dry portion of the siphon to check for methane gas and search for the missing divers. They found neither. Six hundred sixty feet from the siphon's western portal, they encountered water.

Hours later, the retrieval team brought the bodies to the mouth of the siphon. Autopsies are expected to be completed today, authorities said.

Hines and Allen said they found Rhode and Eberle floating in about 8 to 10 feet of water, their diving equipment still attached.

"It was an uneasy feeling," Allen said of the frigid and dark depths of the siphon.

"It's extremely intimidating," Hines said. "It's hard to describe until you're inside that thing."

A funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday at the Sundome Stadium in Yakima.

Accounts for the victims' families have been set up at the Yakima Valley Credit Union. Donations may be sent to P.O. Box 2922, Yakima, WA 98907. For more information, call (509) 452-7524.