Police yesterday caught a man wanted in connection with the death of a tourist from New Mexico whose nude body was discovered Friday morning on Waikiki Beach.

Police took into custody Aaron M. Susa, 31, who had been sought as a "person of interest" in the death of Bryanna Antone, 25, a college student. Susa was taken to a hospital for treatment of an undisclosed medical condition, Honolulu Police Department spokesman Maj. Clayton Kau said, and police anticipated arresting Susa upon his discharge from the hospital.

Family members yesterday remembered Antone as a woman who had appeared as an extra in an ABC Family Television series and planned to study cosmetology, hoping to one day work behind the scenes on television and movie sets.

Relatives said Antone attended the College of Santa Fe, where she studied film.

She made her first trip to Hawai'i last week to celebrate her 25th birthday and join her family at a dentists' convention.

"We just celebrated her birthday, and she was really excited and very grateful to have a vacation with her mom and her brother and be with them," said one of Antone's cousins in New Mexico, Tara Nolan, 24. "She's been my best friend since we were really little girls."

FOUND IN BUSHES

The Honolulu medical examiner's office yesterday released Antone's identity but said the cause of her death was being deferred.

Kau said police found Susa in bushes near Lunalilo and Liholiho streets in Makiki about 5:45 p.m. after receiving a call about a suspicious man in the area. Susa complained of being ill and was taken to a hospital. Police were preparing to arrest him on two outstanding traffic warrants, Kau said.

Susa had been seen with Antone hours before her body was discovered. They were seen leaving the Waikiki Ohana West hotel together about 1:40 a.m. Friday, Kau said.

The American Dental Association's convention, which drew about 24,000 to Honolulu, wrapped up five days of meetings on Sunday.

The Visitor Aloha Society of Hawai'i, a nonprofit group that helps tourists who are victims of crime, is organizing a memorial Mass for Antone at noon tomorrow at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace on Bishop Street.

CLOSE FAMILY

Last night in Albuquerque, several of Antone's family and friends gathered to share their memories of a young woman they called "Bree."

"She was a happy child and grew to be very outgoing," said cousin Adrian King, 33. "I got to spend a lot of time with her. We're a very close-knit family."

Years ago, various factions of Antone's extended family gathered around their television sets to see Antone as an extra in the ABC series "Wildfire," which has since been canceled.

Although Antone was one of the younger cousins, she loved to play the role of loving aunt to the children of the older cousins.

"Our family is huge but she had pictures of them all over the place — nieces, nephews, both sides of the family," King said.

Antone had an adventurous spirit with a streak of caution, King said. When other cousins went skydiving, Antone preferred to hang back and videotape the experience.

But she was always open-minded, King said.

"She didn't judge the book by the cover," he said. "She would give everyone a 100 percent chance."

Nolan began to choke up as she remembered her cousin.

"My very fondest memories are of her laughing and smiling," Nolan said. "I can't account for a time when she wasn't laughing. ... She just loved her life.

"She always told me, 'You only live once.' "