California Man Dies, Pulled from Ocean at Pu‘u Keka‘a

Puʻu Kekaʻa “Black Rock”. File photo by Wendy Osher.

A California man died on Monday after being pulled from waters in West Maui where he had been snorkeling with family members.

Firefighters responded to the incident at around 12:46 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017, after receiving reports of a male individual being pulled from the water at Pu‘u Keka‘a.

Firefighters were on scene at 12:53 p.m. and found bystanders performing CPR on a male victim near the old pier on the north side of Pu‘u Keka‘a. Fire and paramedic crews continued CPR on the man, however, despite all efforts the man could not be resuscitated and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Fire officials have since identified the man a 47-year-old visitor from Moorpark, California.

According to department reports, a man paddling a one-man outrigger canoe nearby saw the victim waving and heard him yelling for help about 50 feet off the point. After he and a bystander on shore helped the man to the rocks, the victim went unresponsive and they began performing CPR.

Fire officials say the California man had been snorkeling with two other family members when he ran into trouble. The family members made it safely to shore.

Two fire companies and a paramedic crew from Lahaina responded to the incident.