A Coast Guard C-130 airplane and crew from Air Station Barbers Point are searching offshore of Puako Bay looking for any signs of a missing kayaker or other signs of distress.

Hawai'i County Fire Department personnel contacted the Coast Guard's Sector Honolulu Command Center shortly after 8 p.m. last night to relay a report of a kayak or surfer possibly in distress about a mile off shore of Puako Bay, near Kawaihae, on the Big Island.

Four surfers reported to the fire department that they spotted what they believed to be a person in a kayak waving their arms as though is distress.

Fire department personnel in helicopters and in a rescue boat searched the shoreline along Puako Bay.

A Coast Guard HH-65 Dolphin helicopter and crew from Air Station Barbers Point also responded. The flight crew used night vision goggles to enhance the ambient light during the search.

The flight crew reported search conditions were excellent — they could easily see palm fronds in the water.

An additional search of the parking area did not find any abandoned vehicles or signs of someone missing.

The fire and police departments are continuing to investigate all leads searching for the origin of the reported missing person.