A pair of DOCARE officers, on marine patrol, were credited with saving the life of a female visitor.

Last Sunday, Officer Lokene Fao was on a personal watercraft (PWC) in the Three Tables area of Pūpūkea on O‘ahu’s shore when he noticed someone on the beach waving their arms to get his attention.

“I made contact with a man who did not speak English but had indicated to bystanders his daughter went missing while snorkeling. Using hand gestures, the father pointed toward rocks about 50 yards offshore,” Fao wrote in his incident report.

He was joined by DOCARE Officer Brandon Martin, also on a PWC.  The pair began a search pattern and after about 10 minutes Martin located the 20-year-old female visitor from China. Officers said she was struggling to keep her head above water. “She could barely swim and was pulled onto the rescue sled behind the PWC and taken to shore,” Fao added.

Beach goers came into the water and assisted the girl back to shore to reunite with her parents. She did not require any medical treatment.

In a press release DOCARE Chief Jason Redulla said, “Our officers have a wide range of duties and responsibilities, including public safety. We’re happy our officers were in the area when this happened, as the outcome could have been tragic without their presence.”

 

Photo credit: DLNR