POLICE BEAT
Hunt for Hawaii man suspended on Maui
By Rob Perez
Advertiser Staff Writer
Authorities on Maui suspended their search late yesterday for a missing hiker who was believed to have jumped into a rain-swollen stream Saturday afternoon in Haleakala National Park, possibly being swept to sea.
The hiker was presumed dead, and recovery personnel were not expected to start looking for a body until the flooded stream waters subside in a few days, a parks spokesman said.
Members of the National Parks Service, Maui police and fire departments and the Coast Guard had been searching for Kihei resident Edward Pedrick Jr., 27, after two others he was hiking with reported him missing about 3:30 p.m. Saturday in 'Ohe'o Gulch near Hana.
Poor weather and rough stream conditions prompted rescue personnel to suspend their search yesterday afternoon.
Pedrick had told his two companions he intended to jump into the stream, even though both tried to dissuade him because of the rough conditions, according to Kiefer Gier, park operations supervisor. The stream had been closed because of flooding.
As the two companions continued hiking, they heard a splash but didn't actually see Pedrick jump into the water, Gier said.
When Pedrick didn't resurface, the pair notified a park ranger, prompting land-and-air searches, which were hampered by heavy rain and thick clouds. A sandal matching the description of Pedrick's footwear was found in the stream, Gier said.
The water was too rough to permit scuba divers to search.
A Coast Guard aircraft began searching for Pedrick Saturday night because of the possibility that he had been swept out to sea. The spot where Pedrick was believed to have jumped into the stream is more than a mile from the ocean.
Pedrick, originally from Raleigh, N.C., moved to Maui about a year ago.
Reach Rob Perez at rperez@honoluluadvertiser.com.
