A 44-year-old man picking 'opihi off Keahole Point on the Big Island died yesterday of an apparent drowning, firefighters said.

The man, whose name was not released, was found floating face-down about 25 yards offshore in the surf at 2 p.m. A friend told firefighters that the man had been missing for 40 minutes.

The man was taken to Kona Community Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

MISSING MAN'S BODY DISCOVERED

The man whose body was found Wednesday in a wooded area off the Onomea Scenic Area on the Big Island has been identified as Mountain View resident Jason Adams, 39, who was reported missing Sept. 4.

Big Island police have opened a homicide investigation.

An autopsy performed on Friday determined that Adams died from a brain injury due to a skull fracture.

DRIVER CLEARED IN ANIMAL CRUELTY CASE

A Kaua'i man who ran over a cat and then disposed of the dead feline in a trash can has been found not guilty of animal cruelty.

Michael Wong was arrested on the misdemeanor charge after a witness said he drove across double yellow lines to strike the orange cat.

Wong told the court he swerved to avoid the animal but accidentally ran it over, then disposed of the cat with his garbage.