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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Three lost hikers rescued by Fire Dept. helicopter

Advertiser Staff

Three men were airlifted to safety by the Honolulu Fire Department's Rescue One helicopter early yesterday morning after spending the night lost on the trails behind Manoa Falls.

The men, all in their 20s, called for help at about 3:30 a.m. after being doused by heavy rains, said HFD battalion chief Kennison Tejada. They were brought to safety at about 5:30 a.m.

"They had just planned a day hike and left at about 10 a.m. yesterday morning," Tejada said. "They kept going to more falls behind the first one and got disoriented. By the time they found the trail back it was too dark to keep walking so they planned on hiking out in the morning, but then the rain hit them hard."

The men were wearing tank tops and had some water, but no flashlights. The fire department was able to locate them because of a GPS system on a cellphone belonging to one of the hikers.

Tejada stressed that hikers should always bring water, a cell phone, food, matches, a noise device and something bright that can be easily spotted from a distance.