53-year-old tourist swept out to sea while walking along shoreline, Hawaii police say
A man visiting Hawaii from Colorado was swept out to sea by a large wave as he walked a rocky beach in Kona, Hawaii police said.
The man, 53-year-old Jeffrey Jewers of Aurora, had been walking along a rocky area of the shore just before 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, when a large wave hit him, witnesses told the Hawaii Police Department in a news release.
The force of the wave knocked him onto rocks and pulled him into the ocean, police said.
Witnesses told police they saw him trying to climb back out of the ocean, but he was hit by another large wave that pulled him away from the shoreline.
They last saw him in the water about half a mile offshore, police said. Hawaii Fire Department rescuers located his “lifeless” body in the water and rushed him to a local hospital.
He was pronounced dead at 6:40 p.m., officials said. Police suspect he drowned, but the exact cause of death will be determined by an autopsy.
“I know this man and my heart is absolutely broken for his family,” someone said on Facebook.
Police are asking anyone who may have seen the incident to contact Officer Mara Gaertner of Kona Patrol at 808-326-4646, ext. 253, or via email at Mara.Gaertner@Hawaiicounty.gov.
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