Police are seeking the public’s help in finding a missing 52-year-old diver, the focus of an ocean search by the Coast Guard and Honolulu Fire Department.
Police said Harold "JJ" Jackson went diving with a friend off Makaha Beach Park at about 8:15 p.m. Monday.
Jackson is 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighs 175 pounds and has brown hair and eyes.
Coast Guard and HFD rescue crews continued searching for Jackson on Tuesday.
Jackson, who was part of a group that left Waianae Boat Harbor in a 19-foot boat, was outfitted in a wet suit and scuba gear and was last seen exploring the underwater Makaha caves, the Coast Guard said.
Jackson was described as an experienced diver.
HFD Capt. Gerald Pacheco said about 20 HFD crew members were at the scene Tuesday.
"We’re just hoping for the best," he said.
One of Jackson’s friends, who did not want to give her name, described him as a kind, giving man. "He’s there for anybody and everybody," she said. "He’d give you the shirt off his back."
Fire rescue personnel resumed a shoreline search at 5:28 a.m. Tuesday with a helicopter, dive boat and personal watercraft, and established a command post at Keaau Beach Park.
Monday night the Coast Guard launched an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Barbers Point and a 45-foot boat and the 87-foot cutter Kittiwake from Sand Island. The Coast Guard searched offshore overnight.
Anyone with information on Jackson’s whereabouts is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or *CRIME from a cellphone. Alternatively, text "CS808" plus your message to 274637 or CRIMES.