Heavy rains and high surf close Kaua‘i beach parks

KAUA‘I– Last week's rains and high surf battered beach parks around Kaua‘i last week, filling picnic pavilions with sand and washing tons of debris down from the mountains.
Salt Pond Beach Park pavilion in Hanapepe was filled with sand after huge waves washed through the park all the way up to the parking area before receding. At Lydgate Park pond, tons of tree parts that initially washed down the Wailua River during last week's heavy rains were trapped in the man-made pond. Additional debris that washed down the Wailua River and into the ocean was so thick that it caused officials to close that beach to swimming.
County officials estimate it will take at least a week to haul away the many tons of debris from the two popular beach parks.

Visitor found dead in underwater cave

KAANAPALI, Maui– The body of a 53-year-old woman was pulled from an underwater cave at Black Rock in Ka‘anapali on the morning of Sept. 18.
lifeguards and fire-rescue personnel retrieved the tourist’s body after she was found wedged in a cave near where she had been snorkeling in shallow waters near the shore. Battalion Chief Alan Pascua said that rescue workers brought her to the beach fronting the Sheraton Maui, but was unresponsive and no pulse was detected.
Pascua states that fire crews received a distress call at 10:08 a.m., A rescue team from the Lahaina station was on scene at 10:16 a.m.
He says that Maui County ocean safety officers from Hanakao‘o Beach Park also assisted in retrieving the victim.

Lahaina man gets 20-year term in crystal meth case

WAILUKU, Maui –A Lahaina man was sentenced to 20 years in prison after he was arrested with $1,600 worth of crystal methamphetamine last year.
Nicholas Gomes, 24, was found guilty of unlawful methamphetamine trafficking during a trial in July.
Second Circuit Judge Shackley Raffetto handed down the sentence Sept. 15. Gomes must serve at least five years of the prison term before he is eligible for parole.
Gomes was arrested Nov. 12 with 16.43 grams of methamphetamine in his possession.
In addition to methamphetamine trafficking of more than one-eighth ounce, Gomes was also sentenced for third-degree promotion of a detrimental drug and possessing drug paraphernalia.

Kaua‘i copter crash under investigation

HA'ENA, Kaua'i — A Heli USA tour helicopter crashed last Friday after flying into what crash survivors described as a "wall of rain."
The helicopter was flying along the cliffs north Kaua'i’s Na Pali Coast before plunging into the ocean.
The pilot and two passengers swam out of the water-filled copter and survived. The bodies of two other passengers were recovered by a Navy helicopter.
The wreck was located in 20 to 25 feet of water. Rescue divers recovered the body of the remaining passenger who still strapped in by the aircraft seat belt.
The wreckage of the helicopter was removed from the waters off Ha'ena on Sunday. It was delivered to a hangar at Lihu'e Airport, where National Transportation Safety Board investigators will study it to determine the cause of the crash.