Injured hiker, 5 rescuers airlifted

An injured hiker and the five firefighters who went to rescue him were airlifted from Hanakapiai Beach yesterday after spending the night in Hanakapiai Valley.

The man was taken to Wilcox Hospital in fair condition, while three fire rescue specialists and two firefighters were in good condition, said Kauai County spokeswoman Mary Daubert.

The hiker, a Princeville resident, was injured near Hanakapiai Falls at about 1:30 p.m. Thursday.

Firefighters boarded a boat at Black Pot Beach and motored to Hanakapiai Beach, then hiked to the injured man on Thursday.

Plans to airlift the man aboard a U.S. Coast Guard aircraft were scrapped because of windy conditions Thursday night, forcing the group to stay overnight in the valley. At about 6:30 a.m. yesterday, Jack Harter Helicopters, a private company, airlifted the six people from the beach.

Kona knife-wielding robber hunted

Big Island police are searching for a knife-wielding robber who took a cash register's drawer from an ABC Store in Kailua-Kona.

At about 8 a.m. Thursday, the man entered the Coconut Grove complex store on Alii Drive, attacked a 68-year-old cashier with a knife and demanded she open her cash register, police said.

The cashier could not open the register, and the store manager, a 50-year-old Kailua Kona man, threw another cash drawer onto the floor near the store exit.

The robber fled on foot with the cash drawer, police said. He was last seen going into the driveway of Kamaaina Hale apartments on Kuakini Highway.

The cashier sustained minor injuries.

Police described the robber as a thin man in his early 20s with a mustache, about 5 feet 8 inches to 6 feet tall and weighing 150 pounds. He wore a baseball cap with a yellow-and-orange bill underneath a black hooded sweatshirt along with an orange-and-green pair of surf shorts with a floral print.

Anyone with information about his identity is asked to Detective Tyson Matsumura at 326-4646, ext. 277, Big Island police at 935-3311 or CrimeStoppers at 961-8300 in Hilo or 329-8181 in Kona.

Suspect, 13, allegedly robbed boy

Police arrested a 13-year-old boy who allegedly accosted four teens in a robbery at a Waipahu school.

Last month the four boys, ages 12 and 13, were confronted by five juveniles in school. The 13-year-old suspect demanded money and searched all the victims while the other suspects stood by at about 1:50 p.m., police said.

The suspect allegedly took money from only one victim.

School officials found the boy in school on Thursday, and police arrested him on suspicion of second-degree robbery. He was released pending investigation.