Two teens, man drown off
By Rod Thompson
Puna in pair of incidents
Star-BulletinHILO -- The water looked deceptively calm.
But when two teen-agers jumped in for a swim in the rocky coast at the end of Kahakai Boulevard in the Hawaiian Beaches subdivision in Puna, they were caught in a treacherous current.
Jacob Giffin, 18, and Mason Spratt, 14, drowned yesterday morning.
A third man drowned in a separate incident in Puna in waters off Opihikao.
Giffin and Spratt had just moved to the area about 1 months ago with Spratt's family.
Spratt's sister and Giffin's girlfriend, Cheyenne, 17, fell into the water but was able to make it to shore and call for help.
Police Lt. James Kelly said strong currents make the area dangerous for swimming.
"Sometimes over there it kind of looks nice, but it's not nice," he said. "It's deceptive."
An unidentified bystander got Giffin out of the water and applied cardiopulmonary resuscitation until fire rescue personnel arrived, but they were unable to revive him.
A Fire Department helicopter and divers recovered Spratt's body.
Two hours later, at a location 10 miles to the south, Merlin Kamahele, 34, of Kalapana Black Sands subdivision, fell off a 20-foot cliff while fishing, officials said.
He landed on rocks in the water, and the sea continued to knock him into the rocks, fire officials said.
Kamahele's brother and another fisherman were unable to reach him.
The fire department helicopter pulled him from the ocean after more than a half-hour in the water.
Autopsies will be done on all three victims to determine the exact cause of death, police said.
