Search Underway for Man Missing Near Ka‘alu‘alu Bay, Hawai‘i Island

A search is underway for a 48-year-old man who was last seen in the water at Kaʻaluʻalu Bay on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi on Monday evening.

Watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector Honolulu command center received a relayed 9-1-1 emergency call from dispatchers shortly after 6 p.m., stating the man’s 10-year-old son had witnessed him fall into the water while trying to clean a cooler and the boy lost sight of his father shortly after. The two were reportedly out fishing.

Authorities say they are looking for Shane Roena, who was last seen wearing green and red shorts and was not wearing a shirt. He is described as 6-feet 2-inches tall and weighs approximately 180 pounds.

Anyone with information about the location of Roena is asked to call Coast Guard Sector Honolulu command center at (808) 842-2600.

An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point is currently searching the area and the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Galveston Island, homeported in Honolulu, was en route at last report to assist in the search.

Two helicopter crews from the Hawai’i Fire Department conducted initial searches of the area but did not locate the missing man. His son was airlifted from the rocky shoreline by HFD and brought to a designated landing zone where he was picked up by his grandmother.

Weather conditions on scene are reported as 40 mph winds, seas to 8 feet with a 3-foot swell.