Lost Hiker Located on Puʻu Ōlaʻi Cinder Cone

The Puʻu Ōlaʻi cinder cone can be seen in the distance. File photo by Wendy Osher.

A 52-year-old male visitor from Victoria, British Colombia was reunited with his family after becoming stranded by darkness on Sunday night while trying to hike from Oneuli “Black Sand Beach” to “Little Beach” in Mākena.

Fire officials say the man called 9-1-1 dispatchers at 8:06 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 7, 2016, saying he was somewhere on the hill at the Puʻu Ōlaʻi cinder cone between the two beaches, and couldn’t find his way back in the dark.

He did not have a flashlight and his cell phone was nearly dead so he was conserving power for communication with rescuers, fire officials said.

Wailea firefighters responded to assist state conservation enforcement officers from the Department of Land and Natural Resources in locating a man, who was found on the cinder cone.

Rescue crews walked the man out safely.

He was uninjured and was reunited with the rest of his family at 9:30 p.m. in the Oneloa or “Big Beach” area at the parking lot on the south side of Puʻu Ōlaʻi.