Visitor found floating is pronounced dead

A 60-year-old man from Washington state died Wednesday while swimming in waters off White Sands Beach in Kailua-Kona.

He was identified as Michael Gene Harvey of Centralia, Wash.

At 8:09 a.m., Kona patrol officers responded to a report of a body floating in the ocean off the beach.

Bystanders pulled the man to shore, but firefighters said he was unresponsive.

He was taken to Kona Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:45 a.m.

Police have ordered an autopsy.

Man charged in Foster Village arson blaze

A 25-year-old man was charged Wednesday with first-degree arson in connection with a fire in Foster Village late Monday night.

Andrew J. Patton was being held in lieu of $25,000 bail. He is expected to make an initial appearance today in Honolulu District Court.

The fire started at about 11:30 p.m. in a downstairs bedroom and was confined to the bedroom.

Two residents of the home used a garden hose to spray water and help contain the flames.

A 60-year-old woman, a 38-year-old man and a 25-year-old man were home when the fire broke out. All escaped uninjured.

Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Terry Seelig said the home, which has six bedrooms rented by various tenants, sustained about $6,000 in damage.

Police said officers arrested a man about 1 a.m. Tuesday when he returned to the home after the fire.

Police said the suspect, who gave no local address but had lived at the Ukali Street address, was distraught over his relationship with a girlfriend, who lived with him at the home. She was not at the home at the time of the fire, police said.