WAIMEA, Hawaii — A District Court judge Tuesday doled out a plethora of community service hours to a group of hikers cited for trespassing after they were swept away amid flash flooding, prompting a daring, hours-long rescue last month at Anna’s Pond on the Big Island.
The 13 hikers, five women and eight men from Youth with a Mission and the University of the Nations in Kailua-Kona, each appeared in court before Judge Mahilani E.K. Hiatt in answer to a citation for simple trespassing in connection with the Nov. 3 incident.
Those cited following the rescue were Micah Watt, Galen Erickson, Aimee Alianza, Jonathan Emberley, Sarah V. Gali, Lucas McCann, Elin Rizell, Vilde Nyjordet, Vinicius Rodrigues Nascimento, Simon Tito Strehl, Sofie Hovda, Mikael A. Lao and Elvind Jacobsen.
Simple trespass is a violation punishable by a maximum fine of $1,000. The citation, though criminal, carries no jail term.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Britt Bailey recommended Hiatt sentence 20 hours of community service to 10 of the defendants and 40 hours of community service for three of the defendants — Jacobsen, Hovda and Lao — whom Bailey identified in court as UN/YWAM staff members and said, thus, were more culpable.
Bailey also told each defendant that the state, landowners and rescuers hope that they learned from the incident.
“We have definitely learned our lesson and realize that our actions do have consequences and we are actively wanting to do anything we can for the community to repay them,” said Alianza, who was the first to face sentencing.
“The court is not going to accept the state’s recommendation. I’m going to sentence you to 40 hours of community service and ask that you try to do it up in North Hawaii,” said Hiatt.
Alianza and nine others, Watt, Erickson, Alianza, Emberley, Gali, McCann, Rizell, Nyjordet, Nascimento, and Strehl, were each separately sentenced to 40 hours of community service.
Hiatt sentenced separately Hovda, Lao and Jacobsen to 80 hours of community service, noting the stiffer penalty was because they were staff members of UN/YWAM.
“You are getting more because of your leadership role,” Hiatt told Jacobsen. Eighty community service hours would equal an $800 fine, if converted.
Each of the defendants, with the exception of Gali, Emberley, Hovda, Nyjordet and Watt, made statements to the court, thanking their rescuers, adding they’ve learned their lesson.
“Thank you so much for everyone that put their lives at risk to save us so we could be alive and stand here today. I learned a lot,” Lao said.
The 13 hikers, two of whom suffered minor injuries, were rescued after they were stranded in a flash flood event while trespassing into Parker and Anna ranches in Waimea on Nov. 3 to access Anna’s Pond. In all, 13 units were involved, including a county helicopter and two medic units and both rescue companies.
Arriving firefighters found three members of the hiking party on the west side of the mountain stream, which was fed by a waterfall. They told rescuers there was a total of 13 swimming in the stream when a flash flood occurred without warning.
Chopper 1 found three others walking through a pasture to the north. Others were found stranded on rocks along the stream. They were airlifted to a staging area to be treated by medics. The final three hikers were found on a rock ledge behind the waterfall. Rescuers had to rappel down cliffs estimated to be 150 to 200 feet in dark, windy and rainy conditions.
The rescue, which got underway at 4:18 p.m., took about five hours.
