WATERY CAVE CLAIMS DIVER HELP TOO LATE TO SAVE RESCUER.

Byline: Erik Nelson Staff Writer

LA CRESCENTA - Paul Hayden was an Air Force rescue diver of the highest caliber, jumping from aircraft to rescue people from sinking airplanes and even standing by for space shuttle launches in case of an accident.

But on Sunday, it was Hayden, 38, whom rescuers couldn't save. In an adventure that grew out of teen-age explorations, Hayden had become trapped underwater in a cave in Goss Canyon above La Crescenta that he and his brother, Michael, 44, had explored together as teen-agers growing up in the neighborhood.

Hours after Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies learned that his brother was not responding to tugs on a tether, the older Hayden kept an agonizing vigil by the mouth of the cave. Divers stood by, but not certified cave divers capable of safely entering the watery tunnel.

``I took their gear all the way back (into the cave) for them, even,'' he said Monday as his family made funeral arrangements for his brother. ``But they chose not to enter the water.''

Although the divers' caution upset him at the time, Michael Hayden said he believes his brother's fate was decided only 20 minutes into the 11 a.m. dive. He said rescuers told him they believe his brother breathed inside an air pocket but was overcome by a lack of oxygen.

The County Coroner's office reported that medical examiners have not determined the cause of death and may perform an autopsy today.

``You don't want to become another victim. You have to determine the whole picture,'' said Deputy Larry McCabe of the Sheriff's Department Emergency Services Detail. Instead of risking the dive themselves, the rescuers paged Mark Lonsdale, a civilian cave diver who assists the detail when needed.

By the time Lonsdale was transported to the scene, was equipped and made the dive, evening was closing in. About 6 p.m., the diver surfaced with Hayden's body, which he had found about 180 feet inside the underwater section of the cave, McCabe said.

Family members, whom Paul Hayden had often regaled with rescue stories in the past, had thanks for rescue workers, said Christine Hayden, one of the victim's six siblings.

``They did everything they could, and they were concerned about our family,'' she said.

A Crescenta Valley High School graduate, Paul Hayden enlisted in the Air Force at 21 and, following basic training, was recruited for the branch's special forces, his sister said. As a member of the Air Force Pararescue Team, he was able to hone diving skills he had developed before he joined the service.

``That others may live,'' was the motto on a pararescue T-shirt that Hayden gave Michael as a present.

``He had a lot of rescues under his belt. He was a pro, the top guy down there'' at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base near Tucson, Ariz., Michael Hayden said.

``If he could spend every minute going out on a rescue, he would. He enjoyed it so much,'' Christine Hayden said. ``He was a fun guy. He used to tell us all the things he loved to do among the guys.''

Although he enjoyed telling family members about his exploits, she added, ``some of them Paul didn't tell us because he knew that we would worry about him.''

And Sunday's expedition was no different.

``We didn't know what was going on,'' she said. ``He was here to surprise my dad,'' William E. Hayden, for his birthday.

The family had known that he had been interested in the cave where he died. Ever since Michael and Paul were boys, they had played in the canyon and explored its ridges and gullies.

And as teen-agers, they would visit the cave, which they could explore 200 feet in before they had to stop at the water's edge.

``We wondered how far down it would go and how much it was flooded,'' Michael Hayden said.

Paul Hayden made several earlier dives, but none so far into the cave as Sunday's.

His sister said he showed them videotapes he made of the underwater passage.

``It was cramped, dark and murky water when you touched the ground - not a whole lot to see,'' she said of the video images. ``I don't know why it so fascinated him.''

Hayden is also survived by his wife, Maxine Hayden of Tucson; his mother, Edythe Hayden of La Crescenta; sisters Marilyn Westphal of Washington state and Cathleen Porretta of Upland; brothers Robert Hayden of Montrose, William B. Hayden, and Michael Hayden of La Crescenta, and 16 nieces and nephews.

Funeral arrangements were incomplete Monday.

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PAUL HAYDEN