A 74-year-old Japanese visitor becomes the 12th person to die in an ocean-related activity on Maui in the first seven weeks of this year.
Maui Fire Services Chief Ed Taomoto said the man, visiting from Tokyo, was spotted swimming at a Kaanapali beach fronting the Sheraton Maui Resort, while holding onto an infant’s flotation device designed for pool use.
The man was swimming on the south side of Puu Kekaa or Black Rock, about 100 feet out from shore in an area that is calm, sheltered from the wind and inside the current line. “It was like a lake,” Taomoto said.
Bystanders found the man floating face down, grabbed him and pulled him to shore, where they began CPR. Firefighters continued CPR, until paramedics arrived. Paramedics continued life-saving techniques and transported him to the hospital.
Taomoto said he was taken in critical condition to Maui Memorial Medical Center and died either on the way to or at the hospital.
KAUAI
Police seek help after public restroom vandalized
Kauai police and the Department of Parks and Recreation are asking for help in finding the individuals who vandalized a public restroom in Kealia.
Police said the county’s maintenance staff found black painted graffiti on the walls of the restroom in the parking lot at Paliku Beach, also known as Donkey Beach.
The restroom had just been repainted due to a previous incident of graffiti, the county said.
The incident occurred between 9 a.m. Feb. 6 and 8:45 a.m. Monday.
The county estimates it will cost about $4,000 to repaint the facility.
Anyone with information about the vandalism is asked to call police at 241-1711 or call Kauai CrimeStoppers at 246-8300.
