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A 44-year-old man fell 80 feet off a Koolau ridge trail and was airlifted to safety Thursday morning.
The man, who was hiking alone, contacted authorities using his cell phone at 9:07 a.m.
A Honolulu Fire Department spokesman said the hiker was halfway between the Kulanapan Trail, which starts in Moanalua Valley, and the off-limits Stairway to Heaven trail in Windward Oahu.
Fire rescue personnel found the man at 9:56 a.m. and the Fire Department helicopter took him to a landing zone in Moanalua Valley five minutes later.
There was no immediate report on the hiker’s condition.
Fire officials said they didn’t know if the hiker was part of the voluntary search effort for missing hiker Daylenn Pua, who was last seen Feb. 26, when he left the Wai-anae Coast to go hiking in the Koo-lau Mountains on the Stairway to Heaven, or Haiku Stairs trail, which has been closed for 30 years.
The Hono–lulu Fire Department discontinued its search for the 18-year old Kona man on March 4, but family and friends have been conducting their own search for Pua.
