LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i Police Department on Sunday identified 64-year-old Richard Proczka, of Kilauea, as the man who drowned in waters off Hanalei Bay Saturday afternoon, according to county officials. Proczka is Kaua‘i’s sixth drowning of 2013. There have been
LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i Police Department on Sunday identified 64-year-old Richard Proczka, of Kilauea, as the man who drowned in waters off Hanalei Bay Saturday afternoon, according to county officials.
Proczka is Kaua‘i’s sixth drowning of 2013. There have been five ocean drownings and one fresh water drowning since Jan. 1.
KPD and the Kaua‘i Fire Department were alerted to a missing surfer at 5:43 p.m. Saturday, after friends noticed Proczka’s surfboard had drifted to shore, but the surfer was nowhere in sight. The emergency call was made after friends searched for Proczka for roughly 30 minutes.
KFD’s Air 1 was dispatched and spotted the body about 200 yards off shore, at roughly 6:30 p.m. Lifeguards recovered the body via Jet Ski and returned the victim to shore, where he was pronounced dead. Kaua‘i’s north and west facing shores were in a high surf warning at the time the drowning took place.
“There is a wealth of information available to ocean goers that can alert them to the dangers of the ocean and save lives,” KFD Chief Bob Westerman said in a statement Sunday.
Westerman said the daily ocean report on Kaua‘i Explorer’s website is a “great partnership” that provides up-to-date information directly from county lifeguards.
“Yesterday’s ocean report clearly outlined the dangers in Hanalei and all north and west facing shores,” Westerman said Sunday. “If we could all get used to using this type of information — visitors and residents alike — tragedies could be prevented.”
Visit www.kauaiexplorer.com for the daily ocean report. Visit the National Weather Service at www.prh.noaa.gov/hnl/watchwarn for current ocean hazards.
