A man apparently drowned at Anaehoomalu Bay late Saturday morning while spearfishing with his 10-year-old son.

The boy told firefighters arriving at the South Kohala beach shortly before noon that he was on the beach watching his father dive about 100 yards offshore but didn’t see him surface. The boy said he had returned to the beach because of problems with his dive mask.

Firefighters using a rescue boat were unable to locate the man until they were assisted by personnel aboard a Fire Department helicopter who observed the man on the bottom. The unidentified 54-year-old victim was brought to shore in the chopper’s Billy Pugh net.