A 48-year-old visitor from Apple Valley, Calif., drowned yesterday at K�pu Falls in L�hu'e authorities said.

The visitor and his son jumped off the top of the falls and into a pool at 1:40 p.m. The two surfaced and the man escorted his son to a nearby rock.

When the man was halfway to the falls, he went underwater and did not come back up, authorities said.

Firefighters and rescue personnel from the L�hu'e fire station jumped in from the top of the falls using snorkel and fins, but were unable to find the man.

Rescuers eventually found the visitor at the bottom of the water. He was taken to Wilcox Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.