Search for missing fisherman suspended
The Coast Guard suspended the search at sunset Friday for a fisherman whose kayak was found adrift 300 yards off the Kawaihae harbor entrance Thursday morning.
Steven Wycoff, 66, of Waikoloa was last seen fishing at about 9:30 a.m. heading north from Mauna Kea Beach. Coast Guard watch-standers in the Sector Honolulu Command Center were notified at about 11 a.m. Thursday.
The Coast Guard searched with air and sea units covering more than 228 square miles in coordination with the Hawaii County Fire Department.
"After a thorough search effort alongside the Hawaii County Fire Department, we’ve come to the difficult decision to suspend this search," said Capt. Shannon Gilreath, Coast Guard Sector Honolulu Command.
7 arrested for alleged meth distribution
Law enforcement officers arrested seven people this week in connection with a crystal methamphetamine distribution operation between California and Hawaii.
Executing a nine-count federal indictment returned by a grand jury June 20, officers arrested Oahu residents John Penitani, 33; Makusi Penitani, 46; Siaosi Mafileo, 32; Jake Del Mundo-Faagai, 31; Michael Coleman, 28; Michel Nguyen, 33; and Keschan Taylor, 29. The arrests were made Tuesday and Wednesday.
Also indicted were Oahu residents Julius Mitchell, 42, who is in state custody for an unrelated charge, and Salvador Maciel, 41, who remains at large.
Florence Nakakuni, U.S. attorney for Hawaii, said the Drug Enforcement Administration began investigating John Penitani in August. Penitani allegedly received "multi-pound" quantities of crystal methamphetamine from California each month. The drug was then distributed by Penitani’s co-conspirators, primarily in Central Honolulu and Leeward Oahu, Nakakuni said.
The indictment charges all nine defendants with methamphetamine conspiracy, which is punishable by 10 years to life in prison.
Man found face-down in water in Waikiki
Paramedics took a man in his 30s to the hospital in critical condition after he was found floating face-down in the water off a Waikiki beach Friday morning.
An Emergency Medical Services report said the man was discovered at about 11:45 a.m. in the ocean off the Moana Surfrider Hotel.
