Search suspended for missing swimmer off Maui

(Update: 6:00 a.m. 6/21/10)

The search for a missing snorkeler off of Kaanapali was suspended Sunday after four days of search efforts turned up no signs of the missing woman.  The 54-year old tourist from Colorodo was last seen Thursday afternoon in the Pu’u Keka’a or Black Rock area.  The search covered an area more than twice the size of Lanai.

U.S. Coast Guard Seaman Curtis Snyder (left) and Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew Varites, both from Coast Guard Station Maui, search for a snorkeler in the Maui Triangle, June 19, 2010. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

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(Update:  6:30 p.m. 6/18/10)

Crewmembers from the U.S. Coast Guard, Ocean Safety and Life Guard Services Division, and Maui Fire and Police Department continue to search a 300 square mile area within the Maui Triangle for a snorkeler that went missing on Thursday afternoon in waters off Black Rock Beach, Maui.

Rescue crews continue to saturate an area more than twice the size of Lanai looking for any signs of Tina Fox, a 54-year old female tourist from Colorodo, last seen approximately 150 yards from the Sheraton Maui Resort and Spa.

She was last seen wearing a blue swimsuit and fins, but no lifejacket.

The Coast Guard was contacted at approximately 4:30 p.m. Thursday and arrived on scene at 4:45 p.m. Coast Guard assets on scene today include the Coast Guard Cutter Kiska, a 110-foot patrol boated from the Big Island, an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Barbers Point, Honolulu, and a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium from Coast Guard Station Maui.

Coast Guard rescue crews plan to search throughout the night.

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By Wendy Osher

(Update: 5 a.m. 6/18/10)

County Search and rescue crews are scheduled to resume a search at first light this morning (Friday, June 18, 2010) for a missing swimmer off of Kaanapali in West Maui. The 54-year-old woman was reported missing shortly after 3 p.m. yesterday (Thursday, June 17, 2010) in waters near Pu’u Keka’a, also known as Black Rock.

Crews from the Maui Department of Fire and Public Safety resume efforts on Friday morning, June 18, to look for a missing swimmer off of Pu'u Keka'a. File photo by Wendy Osher.

Coast guard officials say the woman was last seen snorkeling about 150 yards from the Sheraton Maui Resort and Sap wearing a blue swimsuit and fins.  The county’s Department of Fire and Public Safety responded with two rescue boats, ocean rescue divers and personnel from the Lahaina, Napili and Kahului stations.

Also aiding in the search were six ocean safety officers on jet skis with the county Parks Department, and personnel from the U.S. Coast Guard who continued their search overnight.

The Coast Guard response included the dispatch of a 45-foot Response Boat from Maalaea and an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Barbers Point.