Brothers, 6 and 10, drown in Hidden Valley canal

Two brothers – 6 and 10 – drowned Sunday after slipping into a canal near Hidden Valley, a Pinal County Sheriff’s Office spokesman said.

A third brother, 9, was able to claw his way out of the canal and run home.

Elias Johnson, PCSO public information officer, said the brothers told their mother they were going for a walk. They had gone two or three blocks north of their home when the incident occurred about 1:45 p.m.

“At some point the 6-year-old slipped into the irrigation canal and his brothers jumped in after him. None of them could swim,” Johnson said. The water was about 56 degrees.

Rescue workers got to the canal about 15 minutes later. Southwest Ambulance paramedics dragged a safety line through the canal near where the boys slid in. The Maricopa-Stanfield Water District shut off the water flow to help in the search.

***ADVERTISEMENT***The dive team from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office found the youngest brother at 4:50 p.m. and his 10-year-old brother seven minutes later.

The brothers and their mother are not being identified until the boys’ father can be contacted, Johnson said. The 10-year-old would have turned 11 this week.

“The mother’s church community came out to be with her,” he said.