Kihei man dies in waterfall jump
By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor
KIPAHULU, Maui — A thrill-seeking Kihei man who was jumping from bridges and waterfalls at the Pools of 'Ohe'o Monday was killed when he leaped off a 184-foot waterfall that has claimed other lives.
The body of Laval Brown, 27, was recovered Tuesday from the pool below Makahiku Falls at the Kipahulu District of Haleakala National Park.
"No one has ever jumped from there and survived," said Chief Ranger Karen Newton. She said there have been "a handful" of fatalities at the waterfall, one of the most recent such cases occurring in August 2000 when a 23-year-old man jumped to his death.
Brown, who worked in a Kihei restaurant kitchen and had lived on the island less than two years, had gone on an outing to East Maui with two friends. He was photographed by tourists as he jumped from two bridges and a waterfall into the stream-fed 'Ohe'o pools, Newton said. Around 5:30 p.m., he jumped from a ledge about 10 to 20 feet below the top of Makahiku Falls, which is a half-mile hike up from the road. The pool below the waterfall is not known as a swimming spot because of its inaccessibility.
No one saw Brown enter the water but witnesses heard a loud impact, Newton said. He did not surface and was reported missing around 6 p.m. Park rangers hiked into the treacherous area to search in the dark but were unable to find him. Maui Department of Fire Control divers found his body Tuesday afternoon. An autopsy will be conducted.
Newton said there is evidence that Brown used alcohol and marijuana during the outing.
Posted in the park are signs and notices warning of submerged rocks and other hazards. The signs also advise visitors of previous deaths from jumping into the pools.
Newton said the depth and configuration of the pool bottoms change throughout the day as boulders, logs and other debris are washed downstream. Kipahulu Valley is one of the wettest spots in the world, she said, with the upper valley receiving 450 inches of rain a year. Stream flows are unpredictable and dangerous. The Pools of 'Ohe'o also is susceptible to flash flooding.
Brown has family in Texas, and had just rented an apartment where he was planning to live with his fiancé and her 4-year-old daughter, who were supposed to move here from Canada on Feb. 7, Newton said.
