2 soldiers drown off Kualoa

Two Schofield Barracks soldiers drowned and another soldier was injured Friday afternoon while trying to swim back to Kualoa Regional Park from Mokolii Island.

A group of four apparently walked out to the island, also known as Chinaman’s Hat, during low tide shortly before 1 p.m., said Lt. John Vines of the Honolulu Police Department’s Windward Patrol District. The four were stationed at Schofield Barracks, he said.

"Apparently on their return, when the tide was high, they got caught in higher waters and struggled," Vines said.

Witnesses said kayakers heard the commotion and helped bring a man, 27, and a woman, 29, out of the water and onto shore where bystanders helped perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

The two were then taken to Castle Medical Center, where the man died.

The woman was reported in serious condition, an official with the city Department of Emergency Services said.

Honolulu fire Capt. Terry Seelig said a search for a second man was conducted by firefighters, ocean safety and Coast Guard personnel.

The man, 26, was located by ocean safety personnel about 200 yards from shore. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A third man, 26, made it to shore without serious injuries. He would not speak to reporters.

Col. Michael Donnelly, U.S. Army Pacific spokesman, identified all four individuals as soldiers based in Hawaii.

"It’s certainly a tragic event at the beginning of the Labor Day weekend," he said. "We press a safety message to all our soldiers prior to the weekend and stress for everyone to take care of one another, so this certainly is a tragic event that we’re all feeling."

He said Army officials still had to notify the soldiers’ families and could not release the identity of the two men who died until then.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with all those involved in the incident," he said.

Jeremy Wagner, 30, of Manoa helped get three of them back to shore.

Wagner, who works for Bike Hawaii as a tour guide, was giving clients a tour by kayak. While resting on Mokolii, he heard a faint yell and noticed some hikers on top of the island yelling that someone at sea needed help.

Wagner looked out and saw a man waving in the water. He paddled to the scene and found two people underwater. The man who was still swimming told him he couldn’t see his other friend. Wagner recognized them as the party of four that had been on the island only moments before.

Wagner told the man to grab a hold of his kayak and dove in after the woman who was in 7 to 8 feet of water, floating about a foot beneath the surface.

"When I found her she was blue," he said. "I thought neither of them would make it. They looked really bad."

He grabbed the back of her shirt and swam backward with her to the kayak where he told her friend keep her head above water.

Wagner went after the second man, who was unconscious underwater. He pulled him back to the kayak and yelled at his clients to bring the other kayaks. His clients and the hikers on the island paddled the people back to shore.

Wagner said he felt traumatized by the incident and dismissed the notion that he was a hero.

"I like to think I’m a good guy," he said. "If someone needs help I’ll help them. I was trying to save that guy who died. Do I feel like a hero? No."

Those making the trek to Mokolii can appear to be walking on water, and it is a popular backdrop for pictures.

Vines said the channel between the island and Kualoa is susceptible to strong currents. "If you’re not sure what you’re doing, it is easy to get washed," he said.

Waipahu resident Joseph Ries, 43, and Waimanalo resident Daysha Wong, 22, were among those camping near the beach at Kualoa who went to assist the two people brought ashore by the kayakers. Ries said the woman told them that she did not know how to swim.

On Jan. 27, 1982, Waipahu Intermediate School parent Stanley Sakuma died in the same area under similar circumstances. A group of students and parents made it easily to Mokolii during low tide during a science field trip. But the group encountered gray clouds, a sudden rising tide and large waves on the way back. After saving his daughter, Sakuma swam off to rescue other children. He was the only casualty that day.