MEDIA RELEASE

Preliminary results of an autopsy performed Tuesday (March 26) indicate that a 37-year-old Colorado man died of accidental drowning.

At 3:38 p.m. Saturday (March 23) Puna police officers responded to a report of a swimmer in distress at Orr’s Beach in the Waʻa Waʻa area of Puna. They learned that the victim had been jumping off cliffs into the water with friends when he became caught in the current and pulled under.

Fire Department personnel retrieved him from the water and took him to Hilo Medical Center, where he was pronounce dead at 5:50 p.m.

The victim’s name is being withheld pending positive identification and notification of his family.