"The risks they (the brothers) encountered likely would have been encountered by our guys as well," said Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Cannon. "The risk was not worth it. It's incredibly dangerous. It's confined space. It's comparable to an underwater cave."

The family was upset and ready to undertake the rescue effort themselves, said Tyler Hobbs, Ashton and B.J.'s older brother.

"We wanted to go in, but they wouldn't let us," he said. "They were really unworkable people. They didn't communicate well with us."

Cannon said officers did their best. They contacted the water- users association, and the water manager began to drain the canal into Dry Creek by 1 a.m. As morning came, 60 to 70 family members gathered, waiting and worrying and hoping that their adventuresome boys, brothers, nephews and grandsons had found air pockets that might keep them alive.

The water finished draining at 11 a.m.

Ashton and B.J. made it down the 100-foot incline on the tunnel's west side to the bottom of the tunnel before something went wrong. Maybe their lights went out. Even with them, they may have become disoriented. Their gear could have become tangled. Cannon believes the 30 dives the brothers had made weren't enough to prepare them for diving in a confined space.

"I have 40 dives, and I wouldn't consider myself an experienced diver," Cannon said. "I certainly wouldn't consider myself experienced enough for this dive."

Tyler said the family believes B.J.'s air ran out. Ashton was a soccer star; he was the Deseret Morning News 3A state MVP in 1998 and helped lead Lehi High School to state championships in '97 and '98, then went on to play for Weber State University. He also was a state high school diving champion and was in better shape than B.J., a high school wrestler and wakeboarder — and so his body would have used the air more efficiently.

They went through their air quickly because of the pressure of diving at 100 feet.

The search-and-rescue team found Ashton 600 feet into the tunnel, Cannon said, and B.J. about 200 feet farther in.

"The most difficult thing was bringing them up to their families," Cannon said. "That's always the most difficult thing."

The canal entrances are surrounded by warning signs that should drive off would-be divers, he said.

"I hope the silver lining in this is that others will remember this and choose not to try."

The bodies were taken to the state medical examiner's office. An autopsy is scheduled today. The results, due in a couple of weeks, might reveal the factors that combined to kill Ashton and B.J. Hobbs.

Hours later, friends and family members gathered around the porch at the Hobbs home in Lehi and talked about Ashton, who ran a siding business in Utah County and leaves behind his wife and 6-month-old son Teagan, and B.J., who framed houses.

B.J. started getting power tools as gifts for his 12th birthday. A few days ago he bought a '52 Jeep he planned to rebuild.

"They both loved anything dangerous," said their sister, Shawna Robertson.

"They lived more in their 21 and 23 years than most people do in their lifetimes," Tyler said. "Everybody loved them. Just wait for the funeral; there won't be an empty seat."

He shook his head.

"They've usually been invincible."

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E-mail: twalch@desnews.com