Drowning victim identified as 57-year-old

A 57-year-old Oahu man who died after apparently running into trouble in waters off Waikiki on Wednesday has been identified as Gary Tanioka.

Tanioka died as a result of an accidental drowning, the city Department of Medical Examiner said Thursday.

A surfer saw Tanioka in trouble in a break known as “Rock Piles” at about 8:20 a.m., Honolulu fire Capt. Terry Seelig said. The surfer paddled to him, placed him on his surfboard and took him ashore near Hilton Hawaiian Village.

Tanioka was taken by paramedics to a hospital, where we was pronounced dead.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Rescue crews continue search for kayaker

Maui firefighters planned to resume searching at daybreak today for a kayaker missing off the Valley Isle, a Fire Department spokesman said.

The Coast Guard and firefighters searched two days for Kihei resident Torry Durrell, 55, after a neighbor reported him overdue from his kayaking trip on Wednesday. The neighbor confirmed that a kayak found by a commercial vessel about 200 yards off Kalepolepo Beach Park on Tuesday belonged to Durrell.

The Coast Guard launched its search at about 2 p.m. Wednesday and searched continously, covering about 272 square miles, until ending its search at 6:18 p.m. Thursday.

Maui Fire Department spokesman Lee Mainaga said firefighters searched by air, land and sea on Wednesday and Thursday, stopping each night because of darkness.