Search for fisherman called off after 3 days

Fifty-five-year-old Loren “Jamie” Salis was on his first spearfishing excursion in about 10 years when he disappeared in the middle of the night last week, his sister said.

On Saturday, the Hawaii Fire Department and Coast Guard suspended searches for Salis, having scoured the ocean for three days by air and boat, and with dive teams.

“It’s hard because it’s my brother,” said Briday Pinpherk of Hawi. “I love him.”

The Coast Guard said Salis was last seen about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday near the end of Old Coast Guard Road in North Kohala and was reported missing at 2:40 a.m. Thursday by two people he had been diving with.

That morning, firefighters recovered a submerged dive light and a fishing spear. Pinpherk said she heard those items belonged to Salis.

Hawaii Fire Department Battalion Chief Ty Medeiros said besides the dive light and spear, which were turned over to police, firefighters didn’t find any other signs of Salis.

He said a fire dive team and a rescue boat crew searched for three days and were assisted by a fire helicopter crew during the first two days.

The dive team looked up to 100 yards from shore and up to a half-mile in each direction along the shoreline. Medeiros said ocean conditions were favorable.

Together with the Coast Guard, the Fire Department searched by air up to 20 miles from shore and 20 miles in each direction along the shoreline, Medeiros said.

The Coast Guard said it searched about 3,000 square miles and deployed three self-locating marker buoys.

“The suspension of an active search and rescue case without definitive resolution is one of the most difficult decisions to make,” said Capt. Shannon Gilreath, commanding officer at Coast Guard Sector Honolulu, in a press release. “We have saturated the area in an attempt to locate Mr. Salis but, pending further developments, we have decided to suspend the active search. Our prayers go out to the family.”

Over the three-day mission, the Coast Guard searched with an HC-130 Hercules airplane, an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter, an auxiliary airplane and the Coast Guard cutter Ahi.

Pinpherk said her brother, of Hawi, was outgoing and enjoyed crafts such as wood carving and coconut leaf weaving, and had good drawing abilities.

When he wasn’t working, he was fond of fishing from the shoreline with bamboo poles or fishing rods.

“Jamie loved to fish, but diving … I was kind of surprised he went diving,” Pinpherk said. “I don’t think he was in physical shape to go diving.”

She said her brother, who has two sons, had a hip replacement and arthritis.

She said Salis went diving because his cousin had asked him to go, and the two were joined by a third man.

She hadn’t spoken with the cousin, but the third man told her that shortly after Salis and his cousin entered the water, the cousin heard Salis call out to him.

The cousin couldn’t find Salis and thought he got out of the ocean. The cousin realized Salis was missing when he returned to the shoreline. The third man had stayed to pick opihi.

Pinpherk said she didn’t know why it took the men so long to call for help and hoped for more details.

“I just want to hear the truth,” she said.