Ocean Safety personnel rescued 12 people and took 540 preventative actions on Oahu’s North Shore on Saturday as a large northwesterly swell continued to pass through the state.
Among the dozen rescues recorded, lifeguards and fire rescue personnel assisted two people back to shore after they found themselves stranded in high surf after jumping off a rock in Laie.
No injuries were reported in that case.
Wave heights reached 10 feet to 15 feet on north-facing shores and 8 feet to 12 feet on west-facing shores on Saturday. The high surf, which peaked on Friday, will continue to diminish through Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.
Surf is expected to remain at 2 feet to 4 feet along south-facing shores and 3 feet to 5 feet on east-facing shores through Sunday, the weather service reported.
The search continued on Saturday for a missing hiker who may have been swept out to sea near Hanauma Bay on Friday.
Police say Noemi Alcotas, 34, was last seen around 7 a.m. on Friday.
Hikers found bags belonging to Alcotas and a 34-year-old Honolulu resident Jojo Acosta on a cliff near the remote Rock Bridge area of Hanauma Bay at about 1 p.m.
Lifeguards and fire rescue personnel searched the area and found Acosta’s body in the ocean at about 2:45 p.m. Friday.
Rescuers speculate that Acosta and Alcotas may have been knocked into the ocean by a large wave.
Lifeguards, firefighters and the Coast Guard continued to search until nightfall but found no further trace of Alcotas.
An intensive land, sea and air search resumed at first light on Saturday.
Fire rescue personnel expanded the search to the Spitting Caves area in response to rough surf conditions. Alcotas’ family gathered at Hanauma Bay as the search continued through the day.
The search halted at nightfall and will resume again at daybreak Sunday.
