Rescuers kept busy The weather system that brought deadly rain to the islands Saturday night could drop more rain on the islands over the next three to four days, according to lead forecaster Bob Farrell at the National Weather Service.
as more rain expected
over next few days
The weather proves fatal for 3
on Maui and difficult for hikersStar-Bulletin staff and news services
Heavy rainfall was reported last night in Waikane and Waiahole valleys and along the Windward coast from Kaneohe to Punaluu, Farrell said. No damage or injuries were reported.
Three people killed Saturday on Maui when the vehicle they were in was swept into a stream by flood waters have been identified as Jim Elliott of Waiehu, Maui; Anthea Bond, 42, of Santa Cruz, Calif.; and Claudia Leonor, 51, also of Santa Cruz.
Five people were in the four-wheel-drive vehicle trying to cross a rain-swollen gulch off Upper Malaihi Road in upper Waiehu, according to Maui police.
Firefighters in a rescue helicopter found the three bodies about a mile away in the ocean off Waiehu Beach, Fire Capt. Ben Bland said.
The two other people in the Jeep Cherokee, Jacqueline Field of Waiehu and Harold Kornylak of Virginia Beach, Fla., survived. Field said that Elliott, the owner of the Jeep, had been enlisted to help her, Kornylak and the two women from California cross Kope Gulch to get to a party.
"The minute we tried to cross, the current grabbed us and pushed the car to the side and into the river," Field said. "The car went sideways and into the river, and then it turned upside down."
Kornylak, who was in the back seat with Field, said he pushed the door open and swam out before reaching back in to help her.
The two survivors said they did not see what happened to the other three, who were riding in the front seat. The gulch runs into Waiehu Stream, which empties into the ocean at the beach.
Meanwhile, on Oahu, three hikers spent a wet Saturday night on trails in Honolulu. Two hikers were walking out from the Kaau Crater trail in Palolo Valley yesterday morning as fire rescue crews were going in to find them.
A Honolulu man, 35, and a woman were unable to hike out Saturday because of rising water in Waiomao Stream and spent the night in the mountains, fire Capt. Kenison Tejada said. "They were a little cold, hungry and a little embarrassed," he said.
Rescue crews were assisting other hikers who were having trouble crossing the stream Saturday. They told the rescuers about the couple heading up the trail, and a rescue unit and the fire helicopter searched the area but could not find anyone Saturday night. The search resumed at 6:30 a.m. yesterday. The hikers were found about a mile from the trail head.
They said they had been hiking down near Kaau Crater on Saturday afternoon, but when they reached the second waterfall, the stream was flowing too heavily, so they hiked back up near the third waterfall, where they camped overnight.
Meanwhile, in Manoa, another couple went for a hike at 5 p.m. Saturday, Tejada said. About 8 p.m. the wife wanted to go home, Tejada said. "He turned around and went back up," he said.
When the man did not show up for a few hours, the wife called the Fire Department about 11:30 p.m. Rescuers hiked the trail until 1 a.m. and found no one. The man, however, walked out on his own early yesterday morning and called the Fire Department to say he was fine.