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COURTESY MAUI FIRE DEPARTMENT
Firefighters searched yesterday and today for a missing 34-year-old old Utah man at the Olivine Pools in Kahakuloa.
A 34-year-old Utah man who was swept into the ocean in Kahakuloa on Monday was still missing Tuesday afternoon, Maui firefighters said.
A Maui Fire Department helicopter and ground crew resumed searching at about 7 a.m. today and had found no signs of the man by about 4 p.m., said MFD spokesman Edward Taomoto.
Initially, rescuers were searching for two men — the Utah man and a 23-year-old Connecticut man. Both were taking photos with two women on a rock near the water at Olivine Pools off Kahekili Highway Monday afternoon, Taomoto said.
At about 1:40 p.m., a wave knocked the younger man into the water, and a second wave dragged the two women across the rocks.
Witnesses spotted the Utah man in the water, but then lost sight of him.
The Connecticut man was pulled from the water at 2:13 p.m. He was treated for multiple cuts and flown to Maui Memorial Medical Center in stable condition. The two women, a 19-year-old from Mexico and a 20-year-old from Austria, sustained minor abrasions and were treated at the scene. .
The Coast Guard deployed an aircrew around 9:15 p.m. Monday and continued searching this morning with an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter, an HC-130 Hercules airplane, and a patrol boat.
Firefighters suspended their search Monday because of darkness
Stay calm and float with the current till you can come back to shore. I pray for your safe return. You don’t tug on Superman’s cape, you don’t p into the wind, and you don’t turn your back to the waves in Hawaii.