HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
HILO CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION SECTION
DETECTIVE RANDAL M. ISHII
PHONE: 961-2358
JULY 13, 1999
G-00088
MEDIA RELEASE UPDATE
The results of an autopsy Tuesday (July 13, 1999) determined that a 16-year-old Hilo boy who fell from a cliff Monday died of drowning.
The victim, Shelton S. Maruyama, fell off a 50-foot cliff, ending up in the Wailuku River. Maruyama was fleeing from a police officer who was responding to a 3:32 a.m. call from a neighbor who reported hearing a loud noise at the site of the old KPUA radio station in the Piihonua area.
On arriving, the investigating officer saw a pickup truck parked near the end of the building and observed an individual running from the truck in the dark. No one chased the individual who was seen running.
After Maruyama fell, police called fire rescue personnel, who searched for the boy and found his body at 6:12 a.m. They transported the victim to the Hilo Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 6:44 a.m.
Police have classified the death as a public accident.
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