HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
SOUTH HILO PATROL DIVISION
SERGEANT PRENTISS A. MORENO
PHONE: 961-2311
JULY 12, 1999
G-00088
MEDIA RELEASE
A 16-year-old boy died Monday (July 12, 1999) after he apparently fell off a cliff overlooking the Wailuku River.
He was identified as Shelton S. Maruyama, of a Hilo address.
Hilo police responded 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, investigating officers saw a pickup truck parked near the end of the building, and several individuals started running in the dark. One of the fleeing youths, Maruyama, fell off a 50-foot cliff and ended up in the river.
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 ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of Maruyama’s death. In the meantime, they have classified the death as a public accident.
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