Coast Guard searching for man missing near Ka'alu'alu Bay, Big Island

News Release

July 3, 2017 U.S. Coast Guard 14th District Hawaii and the Pacific Contact: 14th District Public Affairs Office: (808) 535-3230 After Hours: (808) 341-9849

Coast Guard searching for man missing near Ka'alu'alu Bay, Big Island

HONOLULU — The Coast Guard is searching for a man in the water in the vicinity of Ka'alu'alu Bay on the Big Island, Monday. 

Missing is Shane Romena, 48-years-old.

Romena was reportedly last seen wearing green and red shorts and was not wearing a shirt. He is 6 feet 2 inches tall and approximately 180 lbs. 

Anyone with information about the location of Romena 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, is en route to assist in the search. 

Watchstanders at the Sector Honolulu command center received a relayed 911 emergency call from dispatchers shortly after 6 p.m., stating Romena's 10-year-old son had witnessed him fall into the water while trying to clean a cooler and he lost sight of him shortly after. The two were reportedly out fishing. 

Two helicopter crews from the Hawai'i Fire Department conducted initial searches of the area but did not locate Romena. 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. 

More information will be released once it becomes available.

-USCG-