Hiker’s death at Makapuu leaves ‘a lot of tears’

The hiker who died Friday in a fall from Makapuu Tom-Tom Trail was identified Saturday as Darlene Feliciano, 27, an avid hiker and popular supervisor at the Keeaumoku Street Walmart.

Co-workers identified her and posted messages of grief on social media.

Another Walmart supervisor confirmed Feliciano worked at the store and said, "She will be dearly missed."

The supervisor declined further comment out of respect for Feliciano’s family.

Authorities said Feliciano was hiking with a 29-year-old man when she fell. Her body was found 500 feet below a place called The Puka, a popular spot for photos along the trail because of a hole in the rocks.

Firefighters were called at 12:44 p.m. and found Feliciano unconscious and not breathing. She was taken by helicopter to a landing zone near Sea Life Park, where she was declared dead.

Chad Galario, a pharmacy employee at Walmart, said Feliciano was his immediate supervisor when he worked as a cashier at the store.

"She’s always been cordial and nice to us, outgoing and smiling," he said by phone. "She was a very integral part of our team at Walmart."

Galario, 25, said employees learned about Feliciano’s death on Friday afternoon.

"Seeing a lot of tears and a lot of silence," Galario said. "It was just too shocking. We’re still in denial."

He said his co-workers were still in a sad mood when he visited the store on Saturday.

"Nobody’s working happy," he said. "Everybody is a notch down because of what happened. She affected a lot of people there."

He said Feliciano was hiking with a friend, a co-worker at Walmart. The man was usually with Feliciano when she went hiking, and she often posted pictures of her hikes on social media, Galario said.

Galario added that he is worried about Feliciano’s friend, whom he suspected was in turmoil.

He said Feliciano also enjoyed going to the beach and taking photos using her GoPro camera or selfie stick.

"She always wanted that perfect shot, the one that everybody is jealous of," Galario said.

Last month, several travel websites were asked to stop promoting the Tom-Tom Trail because of a rise in hiking injuries.

Various parcels around the trail are owned by Kamehameha Schools and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. The landowners collaborated to send out the letters asking websites to stop mentioning the ridge, known as Kamehame Ridge, as a hiking destination.

"A rise in hiking accidents has elevated our urgency to act," the letter said, adding that social media has resulted in a surge of trespassing at Kamehame Ridge.