Police say a man died of an accidental drowning May 2 at Kolekole Beach Park.
The victim was identified Monday by police as 47-year-old Chad Gilbert Keala Shimaoka of Honomu.
An HPD statement Monday— the first about the incident — said an autopsy performed May 7 indicated Shimaoka died of an accidental drowning.
“I’m gonna miss u my fren rest in love … Chad Shimaoka,” a friend of Shimaoka’s posted on Facebook the day the drowning occurred.
Shimaoka’s Facebook page said he was single, indicated he was an avid fisherman, and that he had attended the University of Hawaii at Hilo.
According to police, when officers arrived at the scene shortly after 1 p.m. May 2, bystanders were performing CPR on Shimaoka.
Witnesses reported seeing Shimaoka and a friend enter the water with kayaks, and Shimaoka fell off his kayak on a least two separate occasions. Witnesses reported seeing him flailing his arms in the air in distress before floating, apparently lifeless, on the surface of the water.
Witnesses entered the water to retrieve Shimaoka and brought him to shore, where they immediately started CPR.
Shimaoka was taken to Hilo Benioff Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 2 p.m.
Anyone with information relative to this case is asked to call the police nonemergency number at (808) 935-3311 or Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300.