HAWAII POLICE DEPARTMENT
SOUTH HILO PATROL
SERGEANT RICHARD MIYAMOTO
PHONE: 961-2213
MARCH 7, 2007

MEDIA RELEASE

South Hilo patrol officers and Fire Department rescue units responded Wednesday (March 7) to the Wailuku River in the area of Reed’s Island on a report of a missing swimmer.

Fire dispatch received a call at 4:43 p.m. reporting a missing swimmer in the Wailuku River about 100 to 200 yards above a local swimming holed called “Ropes.”

After a short search of the area, rescue divers found a 20-year-old man under water. A helicopter airlifted him out of the area and he was transported to Hilo Medical Center.

After attempts to resuscitate the man failed, he was pronounced dead at 6:02 p.m. at the Hilo Medical Center emergency room.

Police have initiated a coroner’s inquest. An autopsy is scheduled to determine the exact cause of death.

The victims’s name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

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