The Coast Guard and Hawaii Fire Department were searching for a missing free diver off North Kohala Thursday.
The Coast Guard and Hawaii Fire Department were searching for a missing free diver off North Kohala Thursday.
Watchstanders got a report at 2:40 a.m. Thursday that the man had gone missing at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday near the end of Old Coast Guard Road, which is located on the Kona side of Hawi.
The watchstanders immediately alerted boaters in the area to keep a lookout and report any sightings, the Coast Guard said. They also dispatched a Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter to begin the search from its base at Barbers Point. The Dolphin is the most common Coast Guard aircraft, crewed by two pilots, a flight mechanic and a rescue swimmer.
The Coast Guard cutter Ahi was also dispatched to the area from its base in Honolulu. The 87-feet-long vessel is equipped with a stern-launched boat for operations.
The search included fire department dive teams, a rescue boat and helicopter crews. A HC-130 Hercules joined the effort Thursday morning, said Chief Petty Officer Sara Mooers.
The Dolphin crew arrived and spotted a submerged dive light, but it could not tell if the man was in the area at the time. Fire department divers recovered the light and a fishing spear, but the man remained missing at press time.
The man is believed to be wearing a wetsuit and diving weights, said Special Operations Battalion Chief Gerald Kosaki.
That department was using divers, rescue watercraft and the unit’s boat to search for the missing man, he said.
There were between two to four divers in the water as they rotated to search the area, he said. For several hours they were supported by the rescue watercraft, he said, but they determined the search area did not require their use.
The Coast Guard was planning to continue searching through the night with the cutter and the helicopter. The HC-130 was set to resume its search at first light.
The Hawaii Fire Department’s unit was somewhat strained by the ongoing search for the woman who was dragged into rough water near Boiling Pots on Monday, Kosaki said, but operations continued as normal.
The water was 86.9 degrees, according to the Kawaihae station, the nearest federal measurement site.
Searchers began to contend with rain as the afternoon continued. Winds were generally out of the south, reaching speeds of 16 mph.
“The disappearance of the diver does not appear to be connected to Wednesday night’s tsunami advisory as his disappearance took place several hours prior to the forecasted arrival of any earthquake generated waves or currents,” the Coast Guard wrote in a press release.
Anyone with information that may help locate the diver is asked to contact the Coast Guard Sector Honolulu Command Center at 842-2600.