WAILUA — Firefighters responded to a call of a female visitor in distress Wednesday afternoon near Uluwehi Falls, commonly known as Secret Falls, in Wailua, according to county officials. At about 4:45 p.m. police dispatch was notified that the 52-year-old
WAILUA — Firefighters responded to a call of a female visitor in distress Wednesday afternoon near Uluwehi Falls, commonly known as Secret Falls, in Wailua, according to county officials.
At about 4:45 p.m. police dispatch was notified that the 52-year-old California woman began having a seizure at the pond below the falls, county spokeswoman Sarah Blane said in a press release Thursday.
Personnel from Engine 2 and Truck 2 responded to Wailua Marina and were transported via a private boat up the Wailua River.
They then hiked up the falls to locate the woman and safely loaded her into a stokes litter.
Rescue 3 personnel aboard Air 1 then airlifted the woman to a nearby landing zone where awaiting medics transported her to Wilcox Memorial Hospital.
The visitor’s current condition is unknown, Blane said.
Uluwehi Falls can be reached by paddling up Wailua River and then hiking a moderately easy trail leading to the base of the falls. Some companies offer guided and unguided kayak tours to the falls, a popular destination for visitors and locals. There have been other incidents at the falls.
On April 15, 2010, Utah resident Ryan Soper, 26, got separated from his wife and family at the falls, only a few hours into their family vacation on Kaua‘i.
On April 21, 2010, Soper’s body was found at the top of the falls. An autopsy revealed he died of “massive head injury.”
Soper’s wife said he had climbed on a tree to get a snapshot, got his foot tangled on a vine and fell from a height of roughly 15 feet. Soper landed on top of his mother-in-law, breaking her ankle in two places, according to his wife, Amie Soper.
As family members tended to Amie Soper’s mother, Ryan Soper, who according to his wife seemed OK despite minor cuts and scrapes, wandered off the trail.
About 10 minutes went by until anyone noticed his absence.
His body was found six days later, after a massive search which included police, firefighters, state officers, volunteers and ultimately scent-tracking dogs flown in from O‘ahu.
