Fire/rescue crews continued the search all day Thursday (April 8) for missing swimmer Ryan J. Ritzel in the Wailuku River. Crews searched from Boiling Pots to Hilo Bay along the Wailuku River.
Ground teams searched ponds downstream of Boiling Pots while Chopper One performed an aerial search. Fire dispatch reported no findings of the swimmer.
Ritzel is described as Caucasian, 5-foot-9, with a slim build, short brown hair and blue eyes. He was wearing white and blue swimming trunks, and reportedly was not a strong swimmer.
Fire Department personnel have been searching the area since Tuesday (April 6) but have been unable to locate him. The Wailuku River Boiling Pots State Park was closed to the public as crews used it as a staging area for the search.
Ritzel, a crew member aboard Pride of America cruise ship, was visiting the area with co-workers when they lost sight of him in the rain-swollen river.
Police ask that anyone with information on his whereabouts call the Police Department’s non-emergency line at 935-3311.