WAILUA — Authorities on Wednesday recovered the body of a man believed to Ryan Soper, a 26-year-old visitor from Orem, Utah, who has been missing since going on a kayak tour with family members last Thursday in Wailua Valley. The
WAILUA — Authorities on Wednesday recovered the body of a man believed to Ryan Soper, a 26-year-old visitor from Orem, Utah, who has been missing since going on a kayak tour with family members last Thursday in Wailua Valley.
The body was discovered around noon in a remote area above Uluwehi Falls, more commonly known as Secret Falls, county officials said. A helicopter service was utilized to retrieve the body, which was taken to Wilcox Memorial Hospital around 6 p.m.
Police have tentatively identified him based on the clothing description given by family members. An autopsy will be conducted, county officials said.
“I’m just glad there’s an answer and I don’t have to wonder,” said Amie Soper, Ryan’s wife, in tears late Wednesday afternoon.
Earlier in the morning, Amie and her father, Gary Tibbitts, stood in the rain while watching a team launch from Wailua Marina to search for her missing husband. The emergency crew included two scent-tracking dogs and their handlers from the Honolulu Police Department Special Services Division, along with personnel from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement, and Kaua‘i Police and Fire departments.
As the two boats were pulling out of the docks, the rain stopped. Amie, still in good spirits at the time, said it was a good sign.
She said her family had just arrived on island last Thursday, and the guided tour to the falls was one of the first things they did. Her parents and her two siblings went along with Amie and her husband. Two other tourists also joined the group.
The tour involves a roughly 2.5-mile kayak paddle up Wailua River followed by a 1.5-mile hike on an relatively easy trail that leads to the 100-foot falls. The body was reportedly recovered in the water near the base of another falls above Secret Falls.
Amie said her husband had climbed a tree while on the trail to get a snapshot, and ended up tangling his ankle in a vine and falling down about 15 feet, landing on top of her mother.
Amie’s mother broke her ankle in two places in the freak accident. Ryan had apparently suffered minor cuts and scrapes to his left hand and forearm, but seemed OK, Amie said. She and other family members have also said they suspected he may have suffered a concussion in the fall.
Another family member reportedly approached him as he went on ahead up the trail, but he asked to be left alone. While other family members were attending to Amie’s mother’s injuries, Ryan wandered off the trail. About 10 minutes passed before anyone noticed Ryan’s disappearance, Amie said.
After unsuccessful efforts to locate Ryan on Thursday, two kayaks were left overnight at the trail head in the hopes that he would eventually show up there and make his way back to the launching pad near the river mouth.
Meanwhile, Amie’s mother, with the assistance of her husband and her three children, hiked out and paddled down the river.
Ryan’s body was found six days later. There was an intensive search in the first four days after he went missing, then the county switched to passive mode Sunday evening. The search covered 300 acres and involved Kaua‘i canine search-and-rescue teams, state and county emergency personnel, volunteers and others.
Amie said she was disappointed with the initial rescue efforts. Specifically, she was puzzled why the authorities did not close the trail sooner to make it easier for the SAR dogs to find her husband. Those dogs are trained by island volunteers to find humans, but Amie said they were not trained to pick up on particular scents like the HPD dogs that arrived Wednesday.
On Monday, three days after Ryan’s disappearance, KPD took over the search, and Amie said her husband’s case was treated as a missing person. In that case, the KPD would act upon leads, Amie said.
On Tuesday, a group of 10 volunteers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints decided to help. That same day, Tibbitts took two DLNR officers to the spot where Ryan had disappeared. On Wednesday, HPD team arrived on Kaua‘i, bringing two scent-tracking dogs.
Soper was described as 5 feet 10 inches tall, 240 pounds, with short blond hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion. He was wearing a black Under Armor shirt and a pair of black and white board shorts when he was last seen.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that in a statement late Wednesday, Michael B. Soper, Ryan’s father, expressed his family’s sorrow at the news.
“Our family is tremendously saddened … and pulling together,” he wrote.
• Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or lazambuja@kauaipubco.com.
