The body of a missing free diver was located Thursday afternoon floating in waters offshore of Punaluu Beach Park in Ka’u.
The body of a missing free diver was located Thursday afternoon floating in waters offshore of Punaluu Beach Park in Ka’u.
The diver has been identified by the Hawaii Police Department as 60-year-old Robert Furtado, of a Ka’u address. The U.S. Coast Guard previously reported he was 57.
The man was reportedly last seen by his diving partner around 5:30 a.m. Thursday approximately 200 yards southeast of the Punaluu Boat Ramp, according to the Hawaii County Fire Department and Coast Guard. Fire department divers found the man’s spear and dive buoy approximately 50 to 100 yards offshore of Punaluu before the body was located by Coast Guard crews around 5:20 p.m. Thursday about 150 yards offshore of the park’s pavilions.
A Hawaii County helicopter then lowered a fire rescue specialist to retrieve the body using a Billy Pugh Net.
Police say an autopsy has been scheduled to determine the exact cause of death.