Body found after shark interrupts search for swimmer swept to sea by riptide in Oahu

A California couple visiting family on Oahu didn’t hesitate Friday when they were alerted to three swimmers in trouble in Kailua Bay, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.

“I could see that there were three people in the water in a riptide that was pulling them out and they looked like they were struggling,” Bob Hall said, according to KITV.

Bob and Deb Hall, of Huntington Beach, paddled out to the swimmers on their surfboards and managed to rescue two women, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported. The third swimmer, a man in his 20s, vanished beneath the waves before they could go back for him.

“We were in the right place at the right time,” Bob Hall said, according to the publication. “I think anybody would do what they could to help out.”

A search for the missing man had to be curtailed Saturday when searchers spotted a shark, Hawaii News Now reported. Aerial search efforts continued, but authorities pulled divers from the water.

A passer-by found a body matching the description of the missing 21-year-old swimmer Sunday on a beach and called 911, KHON reported.

He was identified Monday as a soldier from the 25th Infantry Division stationed at the U.S. Army’s Schofield Barracks in Hawaii, The Honolulu Star-Advertister reported. His name was not released.

Deb Hall said the man had only been in Hawaii for a month and had just met the two women, according to the publication.

In an earlier KHON story, Bob Hall said his father-in-law initially spotted the swimmers in distress and shouted for help.

“They were in trouble,” Bob Hall said, according to the station. “They were kind of at the end of kind of a long riptide. It was pulling them out.”

He and his wife paddled out and pulled the two women onto their surfboards. By the time Bob Hall returned to look for the man, he was gone, KHON reported.

This story was originally published June 2, 2019 at 5:24 PM with the headline "Body found after shark interrupts search for swimmer swept to sea by riptide in Oahu."