Man’s body found near Manoa Falls

Fire rescue personnel recovered the body of a man in a streambed near Manoa Falls on Thursday afternoon, but it’s unknown whether the case is related to reports of cries for help the night before.

Fire Capt. Terry Seelig said a hiker spotted the body in the area and notified the Fire Department at 2 p.m.

Seelig said the area is not near a designated trail, but "people will sometimes get lost, and the ridge has a worn path because lots of people have mistaken it as a trail. We have rescued many people over the years."

Fire personnel hiked to the body and recovered it from the stream. The body was taken by a fire helicopter to the Lyon Arboretum parking lot at 4:30 p.m.

Seelig said the body was found at the base of a smaller waterfall slightly to the right of the main falls.

At about 7 p.m. Wednesday, hikers on the Tantalus side of Manoa Valley reported hearing what they thought were cries for help, Seelig said. He said a search on foot was launched from both the Tantalus side and the Manoa side.

Ground crews searched in the dark for more than two hours, and a helicopter searched for 30 minutes, he said.

Fire personnel encountered hikers on the Manoa side who heard what they believed was yelling at about the same time.

No hiker was reported missing, and no cars were parked at the trail heads, Seelig said.

Police are investigating.