California man drowns, daughter saved off Maui
By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau
WAILUKU, Maui — A 41-year-old California visitor drowned yesterday after a wave swept him and his 14-year-old daughter into the ocean in a remote area known as the Olivine Pools of Northwest Maui.
The daughter was plucked from the water unharmed by a Maui Fire Department helicopter. But Larry Lyle, a commercial real estate salesman from Palm Desert, Calif., didn't make it. His body was retrieved 100 yards offshore.
It was the fourth ocean death involving tourists in the past two weeks.
Terry and Debora Hantack of Edwardsville, Ill., died March 31 after being swept off a rocky shelf at Kaua'i's Lumaha'i Beach.
Victor Schaub, 61, a former mayor of Arcata, Calif., drowned Monday after coming to the aid of his grandchildren, who were struggling in the surf at Anahola, Kaua'i.
Yesterday's accident occurred shortly before 11:45 a.m. in a rocky area pockmarked by coastal pools, known by at least one guidebook as the Olivine Pools, below milepost 16 on Kahekili Highway.
Lyle and his daughter apparently walked too close to the rollicking surf and were swept into the ocean while his wife, Joyce, a schoolteacher, and a younger daughter looked on, said Detective Ernie Soares of the Maui Police Department.
The department's Kahului-based helicopter arrived on the scene first, using a net to scoop the girl from the ocean about 12:08 p.m., said Alan Cordeiro, assistant chief at the Maui Fire Department. The girl apparently suffered no injuries.
Rescue crews performed CPR on Lyle onshore, but he was pronounced dead at the scene, Soares said.
Roy Lundstedt, a commercial real estate salesman with Lyle's employer, Lyle Commercial in Palm Springs, said he was "absolutely shattered" when he learned of the death of his colleague.
"He was just a terrific person, a family man," Lundstedt said. "He was well-liked and very easy to like. He's definitely going to be missed."
Lundstedt said Lyle was the top commercial salesman in the Coachella Valley, the California desert region that includes Palm Springs. Lyle's brother, Steve, is the owner and broker of the firm started more than 20 years ago.
Lundstedt said Larry Lyle was a skier who was in good shape, though he had been working a lot lately because of the real estate boom in the desert.
The Lyles were on vacation during spring break.
Lundstedt said he was surprised to hear Larry Lyle would get himself into a situation in which he would be caught by an ocean wave.
"He was a smart man. He would be cautious and aware," he said. "But accidents can happen."
An increasing number of tourists are venturing to Maui's remote northwest coast, lured by dramatic ocean vistas, a blowhole and a small but growing number of visitor attractions.
One guidebook describes the Olivine Pools as a group of natural swimming pools set in a lava shelf, "offering an outrageous and usually very safe place to swim with the restless ocean pounding at you on three sides."
Police Capt. Charles Hirata of the Lahaina District said the wife and daughters were being helped by the department's visitor-oriented police officers. He said they may return to the Mainland as soon as last night.
Regarding Monday's incident on Kaua'i, an autopsy has concluded that Victor Schaub drowned. The one-time Kaua'i resident was an attorney and community activist.
Private services are being held tomorrow in the waters off Anahola, where Schaub had a home.
In California, friends are preparing a celebration of life to honor him May 2 in Arcata.
Reach Timothy Hurley at thurley@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.
