2 women found dead separately on Kaua'i

By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

Two women were found dead on Kaua'i yesterday in unrelated incidents, one of them under suspicious circumstances.

The body of a woman who appeared to be in her mid-30s was pulled from the water off Kalihi Kai Beach on the North Shore, said Kaua'i Fire Department Battalion Chief Bob Kaden.

Tourists driving on a nearby highway about 9 a.m. had spotted the body and called to surfers, who brought the body in.

The woman was dressed in party clothes and still wearing jewelry, Kaden said. She had been dead for an undetermined length of time.

Police are investigating.

The second woman, a 22-year-old California resident and student at the University of Hawai'i, had been playing at Kipu Falls near Lihu'e.

The man with her called firefighters at about 5:30 p.m. and said he had seen her using a

rope swing, but then lost track of her and didn't know what had happened to her.

Firefighters discovered her body in about 6 feet of water. She had a wound beneath her chin, possibly caused by hitting rocks or the seat on the rope swing.

Firefighters worked until after dark to bring her body up the 30-foot cliff.

Reach Karen Blakeman at 535-2430 or at kblakeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.