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10-year-old hiker
helps save uncle who
fell on slippery trail
The lad climbed down
Treena Shapiro
a cliff and used a cell
phone to call help
Star-BulletinTen-year-old Jordan Barcarse's uncle led a hiking expedition into Manoa Valley yesterday, but the Liliuokalani Elementary fifth-grader had to get them out.
Rain in Manoa didn't deter Michael Simao, 26, Barcarse and two visiting cousins -- both 18 -- from heading up a Manoa Valley trail. "That was the only day me, my uncle and my cousins could go hiking," Barcarse said.
But Barcarse said he won't be hiking again for a while. Yesterday, at 1:24 p.m., he found himself calling 911. His uncle had fallen 20 feet down a rope ladder along Waiakekua Stream.
Barcarse said the trail was slippery, but while he had no trouble walking, his uncle experienced difficulty just ahead of him. "He tried to go down on a rope (ladder) and he slipped," he said. "I was scared and I wanted to find out what was happening."
When his uncle didn't respond to his calls, Barcarse climbed down the cliff. "Once I came down I saw him just lying down."
Simao was cold and shaking, so Barcarse removed his tee-shirt to cover his uncle, then used his uncle's cellular phone to call 911. His cousins found someone to help Barcarse guide rescue workers to them.
Throughout the three-hour wait for help, Barcarse prayed and worked on keeping his uncle alert. "I think that he showed a lot of maturity that came out of him unexpectedly for this 10-year-old boy," said Marsha Simao, Simao's mother.
Her son was an experienced hiker who had never had any serious trouble before, Simao said. Last night he was admitted to Queens Medical Center Intensive Care Unit, but this morning his condition had improved so that he could be moved to another ward.
Rescue workers said Simao suffered head and leg injuries.
After his experience, Barcarse had these words to pass on to other hikers: "Watch out what place you go, watch your step, and make sure it's not rainy."
