Body of missing kayaker is found

A search for a 52-year-old kayaker ended yesterday after his body was found about a half-mile off Anini Beach on Kauai.

The Kilauea man was reported missing at about 11 p.m. Monday, a Kauai County spokeswoman said.

Maui brush fire is fully contained

A brush fire, started by fireworks at about 8 p.m. Sunday and burning 24 acres in Happy Valley on Maui, was fully contained yesterday by 2:30 p.m., a Maui County spokeswoman said.

Snorkelor who died likely had heart attack

The Maui Medical Examiner’s Office said yesterday a Minnesota man who ran into trouble while snorkeling at Molokini Crater on Friday likely died of a heart attack.

Joel Fritze, 53, was with the Frogman II catamaran when he complained of difficulty breathing at 9:44 a.m., the Medical Examiner’s Office said.

He was pulled onto the boat and given cardiopulmonary resuscitation until the Coast Guard picked him up and took him to Maalaea, said Anthony Manoukian, Maui County medical examiner. He died at Maui Memorial Medical Center at 11:02 a.m.

"It looks like he had a heart attack while he was snorkeling in the water," Manoukian said. Fritze also had an enlarged heart, he said.

The results are preliminary and still pending toxicology tests and a microscopic examination of tissue, he said.

Fritze, of Hayfield, Minn., served on the small town’s city council since 2001. He was also a software quality test engineer at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Big Island murderer, 21, draws life term

HILO » A 21-year-old Big Island man who was 17 when he fatally shot a friend has been sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for second-degree murder.

Circuit Judge Glenn Hara also sentenced 21-year-old Malaki McBride on Monday to 20 years for a firearms violation. Hara ruled the sentences must be served consecutively.

McBride has to serve a minimum of 15 years before being considered for parole.

Early on the morning of the 2007 shooting in Nanawale Estates, McBride found his girlfriend having sex in her car with 21-year-old Tyrone Torres.

McBride opened the passenger side door and shot Torres in the head with the shotgun. He then drove the car to Waa Waa and set it on fire with Torres’ body inside.