Search for missing man in Ka’u continues
Search for missing man in Ka’u continues
HONOLULU — The Coast Guard is searching for a man in the water in the vicinity of Kaalualu Bay on the Big Island.
Missing is Shane Roena, who is 48 years old.
Roena was reportedly last seen Monday wearing green and red shorts and was not wearing a shirt. He is 6 feet 2 inches tall and approximately 180 pounds.
Anyone with information about the location of Roena is asked to call Coast Guard Sector Honolulu command center at 842-2600.
An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point is currently searching the area. The search will resume today. It began Monday.
Watchstanders at the Sector Honolulu command center received a relayed 911 emergency call from dispatchers shortly after 6 p.m., Monday stating Roena’s 10-year-old son had witnessed his father fall into the water while trying to clean a cooler and he lost sight of him shortly after. The two were reportedly out fishing.
Two helicopter crews from the Hawaii Fire Department conducted initial searches of the area but did not locate Roena. His son was airlifted from the rocky shoreline by HFD and brought to a designated landing zone where he was picked up by his grandmother.
2 fires reported on Hawaii Island
A pair of structure fires caused severe damage Monday.
The first occurred in Volcano Monday evening.
The Hawaii Fire Department reported the large single-story wood frame beam structure with a metal roof was a total loss because of the blaze.
The fire was contained by 6:30 p.m. Night watch remained on scene and watched as the fire burned itself out. Units returned at daybreak to put out hotspots.
The reported loss for the Amaumau Road fire was $250,000. No one was injured during the blaze.
A single story home also caught fire around 8 p.m. Monday on Lehua Road in Pahoa.
The Hawaii Fire Department reported the fully involved structure fire engulfed the 1,300 square-foot single family dwelling, causing $195,000 in damages. The fire spread to immediate brush in the surrounding area, although no other structures were threatened.
The fire included a 25- by 20-foot attached carport. It was extinguished at 10 p.m. No injuries were reported in the case.
The Red Cross is assisting the families in both instances.
Both fires are under investigation.
Dead boa constrictor found in Hawaii, which bans snakes
LIHUE — A boa constrictor that is illegal to own as a pet in Hawaii has been found dead in a nature preserve on Kauai that is home to endangered native birds.
An intern at the Limahuli Garden and Preserve came across the 5-foot-long (1.5-meter-long) dead snake Friday during her morning jog, The Garden Island newspaper reported Monday.
Inspectors from the Hawaii Department of Agriculture picked it up and took it to Honolulu, where a zoologist at the Bishop Museum will examine it.
State and Limahuli preserve officials said they are concerned that the boa constrictor was found near endangered birds and other native species.
It was not immediately clear how the snake died, according to a Department of Agriculture press release.
People caught in Hawaii with snakes as pets can face fines of up to $200,000 or three years in prison. They have no natural predators in the state and pose a serious threat to its environment.
Boa constrictors are not poisonous and are native to Central and South America. They can grow up to 12 feet (3.7 meters) long and eat small mammals, such as mice and rats.