98-year-old former elementary school teacher first known fatality of Hurricane Lala on the Big Island

The first known fatality on the Big Island from Hurricane Lala was a 98-year-old former school teacher at Nāʻālehu Elementary school, according to two residents of the small, tight-knit rural town of Nāʻālehu in the Kaʻū District.

Big Island Now is not identifying the victim until it is known if her family has been notified.

Noelle Taylor, who lives across from the elementary school, said the former teacher lived by herself and was tiny, under 100 pounds.

Hawaiʻi County temporary fire chief Daniel Volpe said during a press conference on Monda that his department was informed about this woman as a “possible missing person.”

He said fire crews began a search, but the access was difficult. The fire crews that were staged in the Waiʻōhinu region and other crews were able to make their way to assist police working around that area.

But Volpe said: “No luck” in that first search for the woman.

In the chaos of destructive emergencies, especially when communications is a major problem with cell towers, Internet and power unavailable, people often are reported missing, only to be found safe and sound.

Volpe said the crews also were not sure if she was missing, or if “she was accounted for with friends, with neighbors, or whether she was somewhere else.”

Hawaiʻi County Police Chief Reed Mahuna said his department activated a missing person investigation.

“It wasn’t clear to us whether she may have been picked up or if she was, in fact, still in the area,” Mahuna said. “But crews were in the area.”

It is not clear when the missing person report came in, but during a noon press conference on Sunday county officials said there were no missing people at the time.

At one point, Volpe said, “We did pull back. We did allow this afternoon, National Guard … some specialized rescue people were able to come in. She was located while we were there.”

Police and an ambulance responded, Volpe said.

“Unfortunately, by the time she was located, she was found deceased,” Volpe said. “So our sympathy and our compassion goes out to the families.”

Mahuna said the police will continue an investigation to determine the circumstances and cause of the woman’s death.

“We don’t believe it is anything other than a result of the disaster at this time,” Mahuna said. “But we will investigate it fully to make sure that that’s the case.”

Volpe said personnel have been going house-to-house in hard hit areas to search for anyone who may have been trapped or needs help, and will continue to do so until the areas are cleared.

While the county feels fortunate that so far there has been only one death related to the hurricane, Hawaiʻi County Mayor Kimo Alameda said: “Any loss is devastating.”

Green added: “Nāʻalehu is a very small town. Everyone’s already coming together and grieving.”