HALEAKALA NATIONAL PARK, Maui — Maui Fire Department and National Park Service crews yesterday were expected to recover the body of a man who apparently plummeted 500 feet to his death at Haleakala National Park's Leleiwi overlook.

Plans called for securing the body and flying it out via helicopter.

The man has yet to be identified but is believed to be a middle-aged visitor from the Mainland, said park spokesman Dominic Cardea. No one saw the man fall, and the circumstances leading to his death were unknown, Cardea said.

What is known is that he was walking off the established trail, he said.

The man was reported missing Wednesday by a rental car company after the park towed a rental car that had been left at the overlook for several days. Rangers along the western rim of Haleakala near Leleiwi spotted the body that same day, but unstable weather and terrain put the recovery mission on hold.

A Maui Fire Department team tried to reach the body via rope Thursday, and members managed to descend 300 feet down the stair-step cliff before clouds and rain hampered their efforts. Bad weather also thwarted an attempt to recover the body using a helicopter.

Yesterday, Fire Department and National Park Service rangers worked for four hours to secure ropes and gear for another attempt, Cardea said. Six hundred feet of rope were brought in specially for the operation, he said.

"(The Maui Fire Department) has gone way above the call of duty today. These folks are really doing it right," said ranger Mike Ing. "I am impressed with the time the crew has taken to remain safe on this cliffside."

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.