Police Beat
Advertiser Staff
Two hikers missing since Sunday found
Two women who did not return Sunday from a hike above Hau'ula were rescued yesterday after Ho-nolulu Fire Department air crews spotted them on a ridge near Punalu'u.
The women, who were not injured, were reported missing Sunday night, police said. Fire rescuers searched from about 10 p.m. Sunday until 1:45 a.m. yesterday in the area of the Hau'ula Loop and Papali trails, said fire Capt. Richard Soo.
They were found about 9:30 a.m. in the Green Valley area, Soo said.
Body found at Round Top Drive
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
Homicide detectives look over the area near where a body was discovered by a jogger shortly before 8 a.m. yesterday in the bushes off Round Top Drive. The body was recovered from a site down the slope from the 5-mile marker. An autopsy will be performed today.
Homicide detectives look over the area near where a body was discovered by a jogger shortly before 8 a.m. yesterday in the bushes off Round Top Drive.
The top half of the body was covered by a dark trash bag, police said. It appeared to have been dragged to where it was found. Detectives said it appeared the middle-aged man suffered injuries to the head and face.
Jogger Phillip McKeon said he saw feet sticking out of the bushes and realized it was a corpse.
Search for missing boater continues
The Coast Guard continued an air and sea search yesterday for a Kaua'i boater missing since Friday after apparently falling off a catamaran in the Kaua'i Channel.
The search for Mark Brewer involved Navy and HFD aircraft assisting the Coast Guard's C-130 airplanes, two Cessna aircraft and H65 helicopter, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Lauren Smith. The Coast Guard cutter Washington and its 87-foot patrol boat combed the waters off Wai'anae.
Brewer, 47, was reported missing Saturday by family members on Kaua'i. He had set out alone Friday from Nawiliwili, headed toward O'ahu.
The Coast Guard was notified Saturday and on Sunday afternoon found his 22-foot catamaran 16 miles west of Wai'anae.
Firefighters battle lava-sparked blaze
A contingent of 32 firefighters from Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park continued yesterday to encircle an 880-acre area plagued by wildfires throughout the weekend, airlifting in buckets of water to douse the hot spots.
Two helicopters were used to look for smoldering areas, plotting their location with global positioning system equipment and then returning with fire crews to drop water on the spots, said park ranger Mardie Lane.
The park has remained open during the battle with the fires, which were ignited by a lava flow. Lane said park officials remain hopeful that rain will continue to help suppress the fires.
