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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Honolulu firefighters Saturday searched for a missing swimmer at Kailua Bay.
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Honolulu firefighters Saturday searched for a missing swimmer at Kailua Bay.
The body of a missing Schofield Barracks soldier was found at Kailua Bay.
The soldier from the 25th Infantry Division went missing Friday afternoon, Schofield Barracks authorities said.
“No further information will be released at this time, pending next of kin notification,” the officials said in a news release.
Honolulu Fire Department personnel responded to a report of a body washed up on the north end of the 2.5-mile Kailua beach this morning. The body matched the description of a missing swimmer in his 20s who disappeared early Friday evening.
According to HFD, a passerby on the beach came across the body and called 911. Two fire units responded at 5:25 a.m. and proceeded to notify Emergency Medical Services, the Honolulu Police Department and the U.S. Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard ended its search early today.
Witnesses said the missing man had gone into the ocean with two young women around 5:30 p.m. Friday before the trio were spotted in distress.
Bob and Deb Hall, a California couple visiting relatives in Kailua, grabbed surfboards and rescued the women about 40 yards offshore. They tried to save their companion, but he was lost beneath the waves.
“I could see they were in trouble,” Bob Hall said Saturday. “We were in the right place at the right time. I think anybody would do what they could to help out.”
Deb Hall said one of the swimmers they rescued was in good condition while the other was “confused.”
“She was very confused, hard to understand,” she said. “We got her to shore, and medical (personnel) came and gave her the attention she needed.”
The search for the missing swimmer resumed at first light Saturday but was interrupted around 10 a.m. when at least one shark was observed near the search area. Divers were immediately taken out of the water, but the aerial search continued. Signs warning of a shark sighting were posted at the beach, and the full search resumed in the afternoon.
Medical examiners have yet to release the identity of the body that was found.
>> Related: California family recounts Kailua rescue as search continues for missing man
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