Inquest Ordered for Body Found Off South Point

Hawaiʻi Island police have initiated a coroner’s inquest in connection with a body recovered from the ocean near South Point in Ka‘ū.

At 9:43 a.m. Monday, July 15, 2019, divers contacted the Hawai‘i Fire Department and reported locating a submerged body approximately 200 yards offshore from Green Sands Beach. HFD divers located the body of an unidentified adult male under 50 feet of water and brought him to the surface before air-lifting the body to shore via an HFD helicopter.

The victim was taken to the Hilo Medical Center, where the official pronouncement of death was made at 2:36 p.m. An autopsy will be scheduled to determine the exact cause of death.

Police continue their investigation to determine if the body is that of a male swimmer who went missing in waters off of Green Sands Beach the evening of Saturday, July 13, 2019.

Anyone who may have information about this incident is asked to call the Hawai‘i Police Department’s non-emergency line at (808) 935-3311 or Officer Douglas Phillips of the Ka‘ū Patrol Division at (808) 939-2520.