Body found in Wailuku River in Hilo identified as Florida man
KELSEY WALLING / HAWAII TRIBUNE HERALD
A Hawaii Fire Department helicopter is stationed at the Boiling Pots parking lot as first responders conduct a search for a missing swimmer on Sept. 18 in Hilo.
The body recovered in the Wailuku River on Sept. 19 has been identified as a 42-year-old Florida man, Hawaii County police said.
An autopsy determined that Stanley Walker II, of Pensacola, Fla., whose body was found in one of the pools of Boiling Pots near downtown Hilo, had drowned, police said today. The investigation is pending the results of a toxicology report, they said.
South Hilo patrol officers responded to Boiling Pots for a call of a swimmer in distress in the afternoon of Sept. 17, according to police. Witnesses reported observing an unidentified man enter the water and pulled under the rapids. He did not re-surface and witnesses lost sight of him, police said.
Hawaii Fire Department and state rescue personnel conducted a search but the victim was not found.
On the afternoon of Sept. 19, fire department personnel found and recovered the body which was about 30-feet below the surface of one of the pools of Boiling Pots. The victim was transported to the Hilo Benioff Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, police said.
Anyone with information regarding the drowning is asked to contact Det. Kimo Keli’ipa’akaua at (808) 961-2375, or at kimo.keliipaakaua@hawaiicounty.gov.
