Authorities in Hawaii are looking for a 60 year old woman who went missing Thursday in South Maui waters while snorkeling with her husband.
Officials began their search after the woman’s husband called 911 just before noon local time (5 p.m. ET) on Thursday to report that he had repeatedly seen a shark swim by and couldn’t find his wife after she had moved about 50 feet away. snorkeling from Keawakapu Point. Dan Dennison, senior communications manager for the Hawaii Land and Natural Resources, told reporters late Thursday.
First responders from the Fire Department, Coast Guard and Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement search the scene by water and air.
Further information about the identity or place of residence of the possible victim was not immediately available.
Authorities urged people to stay clear of the area where the search is underway, saying shark warning signs from the Mana Kai Maui resort to Ulua Point will remain in place until at least noon local time on Friday.
Maui “tends to have a lot of shark activity,” Dennison said Thursday.
Data from the Hawaii Land and Natural Resources shows that there have been six recorded shark incidents this year, one of which occurred in Maui, not counting yesterday’s incident. The most recent incident to take place in Maui prior to yesterday’s incident occurred in September, when a snorkeler lost his left arm and two fingers on his right hand after an encounter with a shark, the records show.