A 54-year-old California man died Monday, the result of an apparent drowning at Ka‘aka‘aniu, also known as Larsen’s Beach. The man was identified by county officials as Leslie Maltby of Sonoma, Calif. According to Maltby’s girlfriend, the pair arrived at
A 54-year-old California man died Monday, the result of an apparent drowning at Ka‘aka‘aniu, also known as Larsen’s Beach. The man was identified by county officials as Leslie Maltby of Sonoma, Calif.
According to Maltby’s girlfriend, the pair arrived at Larsen’s Beach at approximately 3 p.m., at which time Maltby went snorkeling.
At about 4:20 p.m., Maltby’s girlfriend reported the victim missing, and emergency personnel were dispatched to the scene, said Cyndi Mei Ozaki, county public information officer.
A visual search was conducted by land and by air, with the assistance of the Inter-Island Helicopters rescue helicopter, she added.
The victim’s body was located by firefighters aboard the helicopter at about 5:50 p.m., about 1,000 yards north of the Larsen’s Beach trail.
While drowning is suspected, an autopsy is pending to determine the victim’s cause of death, Ozaki continued.
The drowning would mark the ninth drowning of the year.
There were eight drownings each year in 2002 and 2003.
The eighth 2004 victim, identified by officials recently as William Jewel, 64, from Newport, N.C., was also snorkeling, albeit in Po‘ipu. He was pronounced dead at Wilcox Memorial Hospital Sunday, Sept. 5, after being pulled from the water by a county lifeguard near Kukui‘ula Small Boat Harbor.
Tom Finnegan, staff writer, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or tfinnegan@pulitzer.net.
