Search continues for Molokai man

An ocean search for a Molo­kai fisherman who made a distress call four days ago is still being treated as a search-and-rescue mission, the Coast Guard said Sunday.

Ron Ingraham, 67, made a distress call at about 8 a.m. Thursday, saying his vessel was flooding and in danger of sinking 46 miles west of Kailua-Kona, the Coast Guard said.

Before losing contact, Ingraham gave his GPS coordinates, which were near Ale­nui­haha Channel — the passage between Maui and Hawaii island, the Coast Guard said.

Ingraham is believed to be the only person aboard the Malia, a 25-foot sailboat that left Kau­na­ka­kai Harbor, Molo­kai, for Ma­nele Bay, Lanai.

On Sunday, Ingraham’s friends struggled to remain hopeful as a small-craft advisory remained in effect for waters around the islands and no sign of Ingraham was found.

"It’s a tough one," friend Dedric Ma­naba said by phone from Molo­kai. "Each day that goes by, you think he’s probably gone. He’s a nice guy."

He said strong northerly winds may have pushed Ingraham, a longtime fisherman, south of his intended course. He wondered why the Coast Guard hadn’t spotted any debris, and said Ingraham had a kayak on his boat.

By Sunday afternoon the Coast Guard had searched 7,798 square miles, the agency said.

Aircraft crews conducted more than 50 sorties in the search mission, which began Thursday and focused on an area southwest of Maui.

To determine where to look, the Coast Guard dropped a self-locating buoy to track ocean currents and used a software system that calculates the most likely place to find a person in the water.

But severe weather hampered the search. On Friday the 87-foot Coast Guard cutter Ahi turned around because of the weather.

The rough seas were expected to continue, with a small-craft advisory probably being extended past its 6 p.m. Monday expiration, the National Weather Service said. Northeast winds were predicted to be about 28 mph in the Ale­nui­haha Channel with waves of about 12 feet Monday, the weather service said.

On Sunday the Navy assisted in the search with a P-3 Orion patrol plane.

The Coast Guard did not say how long it will continue searching for Ingraham, but said a MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew would search Sunday evening and overnight.