Father, son missing off Oahu coast, search underway
The United States Coast Guard and local officials are conducting a search for a 49-year-old man and his 16-year-old son who went missing Tuesday morning after leaving for a hike on the eastern coast of Oahu, a Coast Guard press release said.
Family members said the pair left their hotel at around 7 a.m. Tuesday to hike the Hanauma Bay Rock Bridge Trail, according to officials. Passersby found a backpack containing the man's belongings near the trail at 8:45 a.m. and notified the Honolulu Police Department, the release said.
Police, the Honolulu Fire Department, Honolulu Ocean Safety Department and the Coast Guard launched a joint search operation late Tuesday morning after confirmation that the father and son were missing, ABC News Honolulu affiliate KITV reported.
The mission was suspended at 5:30 p.m. local time Tuesday due to adverse weather conditions and resumed Wednesday morning and again on Thursday morning, fire officials said.
The names of the father and son have not been released.
The agencies searched along the trail and surrounding areas, and deployed fire department helicopters, drones and rescue boat, safety department jet skis and Coast Guard resources, the fire department said.
Weather conditions have posed challenges to the search mission, according to officials.
"We're seeing swells around five to six feet and then the winds have picked up around 20 knots so it has increased today," U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Chris Sena told KITV. "It does increase difficulty but we have a lot of air assets they are seeing things in the water."
"We'll always remain hopeful, use all our resources and our capabilities to hopefully cap this off with a happy ending," Keopele Gowan, fire captain and public information officer of the Honolulu Fire Department, told KITV on Wednesday.
