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A 30-year-old mother took a dangerous ride down a flood-swollen stream to find help for her 3-year-old son, two other children and a friend stranded in Kahana Valley yesterday. Mom braves swollen
Kahana stream to
seek help for kidsBy Rosemarie Bernardo
Star-Bulletin"At times, she felt like she was being sucked under water," said Fire Department spokesman Capt. Richard Soo. The river bounced her body against rocks underwater, he added.
"It's a real gutsy action which did assist in the timeliness of our arrival at the scene" sooner, said Soo. "But we do not recommend people to copy such actions."
Soo said the hiking party consisting of the woman, her 3-year-old son, a 40-year-old-woman friend, her 7-year-old daughter, another 7-year-old and a dog named Moose, left in the morning for a hike on the Kahana Loop Trail.
After lunch, they went off the trail and decided to follow the river stream bed.
What they found was cloudy weather and intermittent showers, he said. They came to an area where it was impossible for the children to cross the stream.
The Fire Department was alerted at 5:42 p.m. Rescue units were joined by local hunters and teen-age boys to help locate the group. All were found shortly after 9 p.m., Soo said.
Soo added, "The initial lunch could've ended in a tragedy if things didn't fall in place like it did."
Rescue units and family members provided them with warm clothing and blankets.
"They left the marked trail and were not prepared for the worst," Soo said. They didn't have warm clothing or flashlights, he said. Soo added that if they had a flashlight, rescuers could have located the group earlier.
Soo said a mirror or the flash from a camera could also be used to signal for help.
The best is to stay on the marked trail," he said. "Especially when you have young children."
"You have to be aware of the weakest person."