Just before 3:30 pm Saturday Dec. 29, the Hawaii Fire Department responded to a call reporting a man unresponsive in the waters off OTEC in Kailua-Kona.
HFD personnel responding to the scene arrived to find a Caucasian man floating face-down 100 yards off shore.
The yet unidentified man, estimated to be 40 to 45-years-old, reportedly went opihi picking at approximately 9 a.m. He was spotted floating off shore by bystanders at around 3:24 p.m.
A total of 12 HFD personnel were involved in the search and recovery of the victim’s remains.
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This is at least the second incidence of an opihi picker drowning this year. In May, a 43-year-old Papaikou man died after being swept off-shore while retrieving opihi in Onomea.
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