HONOLULU – Coast Guard and local officials called off their search for a possible missing diver in the vicinity of Pokai Bay after he informed authorities he was not in distress Monday.
The captain of a vessel owned by Dolphin Excursions sighted a dive float with recently speared fish and a severed tether line with no diver in sight, at approximately 10 a.m. Monday. The vessel immediately contacted Coast Guard search and rescue coordinators who launched a crew aboard a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium and an aircrew piloting an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point.
The owner of the dive equipment contacted the Coast Guard at 5:08 p.m. after seeing a photo of his missing float on the news. The owner stated he had lost the dive float last week near Kaena Point.
The Coast Guard highly encourages mariners to label their watercraft and personal equipment with their name, address and phone number. Should anything become lost, first responders can immediately reach out to owners, possibly preventing an unnecessary search. A convenient way to do this is with a Paddle Smart weather-proof sticker. These stickers are free and can be easily applied by vessel owners. Labeling of watercraft is intended to help save lives, recover missing property, reduce the time, effort and resources expended on non-emergency search and rescue.
