Richard Shiroma, seen here with an earlier catch, is still missing after going fishing on Wednesday. His boat was found beached.

A body of a man was found washed ashore at Hau'ula at about 2:25 p.m. today. Although they could not release his identity, firefighters said he was believed to be a man from that community, not Shiroma.

Shiroma's family and friends said yesterday they were mystified by his disappearance because the Kane'ohe man was an experienced boater and very safety conscious.

Shiroma, 61, was last heard from at about 2 p.m. Wednesday when he radioed a friend that he had hooked a marlin. Shiroma was alone on his 25-foot Bingo II, but had been fishing with a group of fishermen off La'ie.

The Bingo II ran aground near the Arnold Palmer golf course at Turtle Bay Wednesday night. The boat's engine was running with the marlin lashed to the boat, but Shiroma was missing.

Honolulu police detective Phil Camero, a missing persons specialist, said that police searched the shoreline area without finding a trace of Shiroma. Because Shiroma had not responded to radio calls after 3 p.m., Camero said they believe it likely that he ran into trouble while at sea.

The Coast Guard and Honolulu Fire Department searched yesterday from Kane'ohe to Ka'ena Point for Shiroma. The cutter Kiska continued to search all through last night, and the larger search from the air resumed this morning, said Seaman Shannon Curtin. Shiroma's friends also went in their boats to look for him yesterday and this morning.

Richard Shiroma

"They're all out there searching on their own," Camero said. He said Shiroma had no history of medical problems.

Sandra Shiroma said her husband has been fishing for more than 40 years and has gone out weekly since he retired as a director from GTE six years ago.

"We want to keep our hopes up and hope that he had something to hang on to so they could reach him in time," she said yesterday. "He loved fishing. When he retired he bought this 25-foot boat and the trailer and the truck to pull it and he's been fishing avidly ever since."

Curtin said the Coast Guard cutter Kittiwake was diverting from the Big Island today to assist in the search. A Coast Guard helicopter and a C-130 are hunting by air. So far, she said the search has stretched as far as 27 miles north of Kahuku and 31 miles northwest of Ka'ena Point.

Richard Shiroma was a member of an 'Aiea fishing club and members typically went out with one person per boat. Sandra Shiroma said the fishers kept in touch by radio and phone.

"Apparently he got separated where they could keep in touch by phone, but they couldn't see him. So nobody really knows what happened to him," Sandra Shiroma said. "They knew when he had hooked up, they knew when he tied up, and they knew when he was coming in because he gave them all that information. Then after he was supposed to have been heading toward He'eia Pier, they lost contact."

Nearly 20 boat owners joined the search yesterday, said Ernie Choy, who owns The Deli on He'eia Pier. He said Shiroma was well-liked and well-known in the fishing community.

"He's a customer and a friend," Choy said. "A lot of Richard's neighbors are out with their boats. He's a member of the 'Aiea boat club, and they're real tight, so they're out there, too."