Hawai’i Police Department
Kona Patrol Division, Area II
Sergeant Mekia Rose
Phone: (808) 326-4646, ext. 253
Report No. C17032308/KN
Media Release
Hawai’i Island police have located a 51-year-old man, who was reported missing.
On Sunday, (November 19), at approximately 6:00 p.m., officers responded to the area of the Old Kona Airport Beach in Kailua-Kona for a report of a missing person.
A family member had reported the man missing while they were visiting the beach sometime around 4:00 p.m. The man was reportedly heading into the water when last seen. Family members were unable to find him after he was gone for over an hour.
Officers, along with Hawaiʻi Fire Department personnel, were summoned to the area to assist in searching for the missing man, but by sundown, he was not found.
At about 1:39 a.m. this morning, (November 20), Coast Guard personnel located an unresponsive person in the water approximately 1.5 miles offshore of the Kailua Pier. Through investigation, officers determined the unresponsive person to be the missing man. No signs of visible injury were observed, and no foul play is suspected.
At 7:45 a.m., officers contacted a family member, who positively identified the man at the Kona Community Hospital. He has been identified as Richard Reikowski, of South Carolina.
Police are conducting an autopsy to determine the man’s exact cause of death.
Anyone with any information is asked to call Sergeant Mekia Rose at (808) 326-4646 ext.253 or the department’s non-emergency number at (808) 935-3311.
