Body of Keaau woman found in Kilauea caldera

Rangers at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park recovered the body of a woman Sunday morning from Kilauea caldera below Steaming Bluff.

The name of the victim has yet to be made public pending notification of the family, but the park confirmed in a release Monday she was 63 years old and lived in Keaau.

On Sunday morning around 10 a.m., rangers received a report of a woman missing since Friday. Family had traced the woman’s cellphone to the park, where rangers discovered her vehicle near the Steam Vents parking area.

The park initiated an air and ground search. The woman’s body was located from a County of Hawaii helicopter around 11:30 a.m., roughly 250 feet below the caldera rim. The body has since been removed.

Chief Ranger John Broward said the woman appeared to have died after a fall from the edge beyond Crater Rim Trail. The area in which she fell is not currently experiencing an eruption. Rangers added it appears the woman left the trail, navigating several barriers to access the edge.

An investigation into the incident is underway.