Divers searching for a Kona woman swept out to sea while free diving Sunday at Kapoho Bay have turned up items belonging to the 33-year-old. ADVERTISING Divers searching for a Kona woman swept out to sea while free diving Sunday
Divers searching for a Kona woman swept out to sea while free diving Sunday at Kapoho Bay have turned up items belonging to the 33-year-old.
Amber Savant’s speargun, fins, gloves, snorkel, mask, weight belt with a knife, and five pounds of dive weights were recovered Tuesday from the floor of Kapoho Bay, said Hawaii Fire Department Special Operations Battalion Chief Gerald Kosaki. No additional signs of the woman were located Wednesday.
The search for Savant, described as having blonde hair, being 5-feet 7-inches tall and weighing 140 pounds, is set to continue at first light Thursday. Savant is the owner of Alter Ego salon.
Savant was last seen when she and her diving companion encountered strong tides and currents that immediately swept her offshore during their first dive at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. She was wearing camouflage pants, a black tank top, dive weights and carrying a speargun.
Coast Guard crews and the Hawaii Fire Department resumed the search for Savant at first light Wednesday, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Melissa McKenzie of the Coast Guard District 14 Hawaii. The Coast Guard supported the operation with an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew and an HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from Air Station Barbers Point and the crew of USCGC Kittiwake, an 87-foot coastal patrol boat based in Honolulu.
Fire department divers were assisted by personnel aboard personal watercraft, also known as Jet Ski, and a Hawaii County helicopter.
Wednesday was the third day of searching, which is the standard amount of time the department searches for a missing person. However, at the request of Savant’s family, the department will resume its search Thursday morning, East Hawaii Battalion Chief Warren Sumida said Wednesday evening.
McKenzie said the Coast Guard patrol vessel Galveston Island was to remain on the scene throughout the night. Crews will also resume the search Thursday morning.
Friends of Savant, via Facebook posts, calls and emails to West Hawaii Today, expressed concern about the circumstances surrounding her disappearance. West Hawaii Today’s attempts to reach Savant’s family, including her brother Aaron Savant, were unsuccessful as of press time Wednesday.
Hawaii Police Department Assistant Chief Marshall Kanehailua said the department continues to investigate Savant’s disappearance as a standard missing persons case.
Leah Martinez, Savant’s roommate and friend, said Savant recently had taken up free diving and was in the water with her boyfriend, Jason Pila.
She said the couple was staying in a rented house in Kapoho with friends to celebrate Pila’s birthday.
Martinez said Savant is adventurous and wasn’t surprised that she would go in the water despite hazardous conditions.
She also described her friend as outgoing, bubbly and “full of life.”
“When you are around her, you can’t even be shy,” Martinez said. “She is so nice, and you just feel her energy and her spirit. It makes you feel better about life.”
She said friends and family members are assisting with the search, adding that many are still holding on to hope she will be found alive.
“We’re still all praying, hoping she made it to land somehow,” Martinez said. “We have hope still.”
“She would be the person to be a miracle,” she said.
Hawaii Tribune-Herald staff writer Tom Callis contributed to this report.
