A Coast Guard crew aboard an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter today rescued a free diver from Lanai who had been reported missing more than four nautical miles from shore, the Coast Guard said in a press release.

The diver, identified as 52-year-old Bruno Ambay, had been reported missing by three friends from a 15-foot boat at 9:40 a.m. The four men had been free diving approximately four nautical miles off Manele Bay, Lana'i, when Ambay went missing.

Coast Guard search and rescue planners in a 24-hour command center in Honolulu launched a search using crews aboard the HH-65 helicopter from Air Station Barbers Point and aboard a 47-foot motor lifeboat and 25-foot small boat from Station Maui.

The crews were on scene before 10 a.m. and reported ideal search conditions. The air crew spotted Ambay swimming along a rocky shoreline area at about 11:35 a.m., hoisted him aboard and then flew to Manele Bay to transfer him to a waiting Maui County Emergency Medical Services crew.

A crew aboard a Maui Fire Department rescue boat took the divers' Boston whaler in tow to Manele Bay. The vessel had lost power off shore. Also on scene was a MFD rescue helicopter.

"This was a great example of a quick response to a quick call for help," said Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Jared Friedman-Torres, a search and rescue controller in Honolulu who planned the search. "His diving partners knew something was wrong, gave us a call and we got there quickly and then partnered with Maui County EMS to get him to safety."