Maui visitor dies after saving son from stream
| • | Map: Pool where accident occurred |
By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer
In the moments after a California man saved his son from a swift-moving stream yesterday, his family watched in horror as the 41-year-old visitor was swept to his death in rough surf off Kipahulu.
Kevin Oakley and his 7-year-old son were swimming in the lowest pool of the Pools of 'Ohe'o, a dangerous area that killed two people in a flash flood in April.
Time and distance worked against Oakley and his son.
The pair got in trouble about 6 p.m., said Gordon Cordeiro, Maui County Fire Department assistant chief. And while responding units quickly called for the department helicopter, it was still a 30-minute flight away in Kahului, Cordeiro said.
The rescue flight arrived just before 7 p.m. and found Oakley floating 400 yards north of the pools, he said. Firefighters and witnesses on shore had kept Oakley in sight, but were unable to reach him, he said.
"We donât have any information at this point on if he was alive or struggling," Cordeiro said.
There were no signs of life when Oakleyâs body was taken to shore a few minutes after 7 p.m., he said. An autopsy will be done tomorrow.
Palikea Stream, which runs through the pools along the southeastern side of Haleakala National Park, was higher than normal yesterday and remains that way today, said Ranger Sharon Ringsven, park spokeswoman. But Oakley and his son were not taken away by a flash flood, she said.
The boy had gone after his slipper and got caught in the current. His father went after him, grabbing him by the arm but both were caught in a rocky section where the water moves quickly through a channel, Ringsven said.
A bystander grabbed the boy from his father, but the elder Oakley was swept offshore.
Witnesses saw him struggle in the surf, Ringsven said.
"They thought he might have gotten exhausted out there," she said. "Initially on, there is no indication that he was injured, just fighting against the currents and he got exhausted."
Park rangers were investigating today, interviewing family and witnesses, she said.
The park service is exploring the possibility of a warning system for flash floods, which killed a man from Louisville, Ky., and his 8-year-old daughter on April 10.
They were swept over the 184-foot Makahiku Falls, which is farther upstream from the pools, and never seen again.
In May 2002, a New York City woman was killed after being swept offshore from the pools.
Cordeiro said visitors need to be aware that area conditions can be deceiving, especially when it is raining. There were heavy rains yesterday, with flash flooding in other nearby areas.
"It can look beautiful at the pools," he said. "But with a high amount of rain on the mountain, the water can come rushing down."
Reach Mike Gordon at 525-8012 or mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com.
