200 come to help
search for Molokai
man lost at sea

Friends and family of the man
who gave the sole life jacket to his
cousin gather at Kaunakakai

By Craig Gima
Star-Bulletin

The Coast Guard and a private flotilla put together by friends and family members resumed the search for a missing Molokai fisherman this morning.

Fire rescue officials were to resume their search along the Molokai coastline.

Chad Petronave, 32, was last seen Sunday morning but had been in the water since Saturday night.

He and his cousin Don Dela Cruz, 35, were on a fishing trip when their boat, the Hawaiian Sling, apparently hit a submerged object and sank at about 6 p.m.

The search yesterday involved two Coast Guard helicopters, the cutter Washington, the Fire Department on Molokai, more than a dozen private boats, and even a motorized water scooter.

At Kaunakakai Harbor, where friends and family members coordinated an unofficial search, 100 to 200 people gathered throughout the day to help with the effort.

Some brought food, some volunteered to help, others came to show support for Petronave's family.

"The family is not going through it alone," said Paula Friel, a cousin who has been helping coordinate the effort.

"Everybody just wants to find him and bring him home," Friel said.

Molokai Fire Capt. Jules Dudoit and many of the firefighters in his department know Petronave.

He said the searchers left early in the morning yesterday to look for the missing man, but had no luck.

"Everybody came back with sad faces," Dudoit said.

"We really appreciate what everybody is doing to find Chad," Friel said on behalf of the family.

It has been windy and choppy in the waters off of Molokai for the past few days, according to the National Weather Service.

A small craft advisory was in effect Saturday night through yesterday.

Based on currents, drift patterns, and other information, the Coast Guard is concentrating its search in an area south and west of Molokai.

Dela Cruz told officials he clung to an ice chest all night until Sunday morning, when Petronave gave him the boat's only life jacket and decided to swim about two miles to shore.

Dela Cruz was spotted and picked up by a passing boat at about 10:30 Sunday morning.

He was two miles south of Haleolono Harbor on the southwestern coast of Molokai.

Dela Cruz was taken to the Queen's Medical Center where he was in good condition Sunday, according to the Coast Guard.

The hospital has declined to release information about his condition.

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Star-Bulletin reporter Gary Kubota contributed to this report.