Man’s body recovered from closed area within HVNP

A 75-year-old Hilo man died after falling from a closed area within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Sunday night.

Family members reported the man missing from within the park around 12:15 a.m. on Monday. After searching for the man in the darkness, National Park Service rangers and Hawaii County firefighters located the man’s body about 100 feet below the crater rim, west of the Uekahuna viewing area at the summit of Kilauea volcano.

Park rangers, assisted by helicopter, recovered the body around 8 a.m. Monday.

An investigation is underway and no additional details were available, the National Park Service said. Identification of the victim is pending further notification of family.

Park spokeswoman Jessica Ferracane said the site where the man was found, west of the Uekahuna viewing area at the volcano’s summit, is closed to the public, with multiple barriers and signs warning people not to enter. The specific place where he appeared to have fallen is about 200 feet beyond those warning signs, she said.

“He knew he was in a closed area,” Ferracane said.