VOLCANO – A search for two missing hikers in Volcano ended shortly after 8 p.m. on Thursday, when the couple was found by rescue crews.
The Hawaii County Fire Department says the missing party was “unfamiliar with the trail and terrain encountered” at the end of Captains Drive/Ala Kapena Drive.
The alarm went out after 3 p.m. The overdue party’s vehicle was located at the head of the trail. An aerial search with Chopper 1 was started using a GPS location supplied by the hikers who were able to call on a cell phone. A ground search was also deployed in the heavily forested area.
According to a fire dispatch:
An aerial search was conducted using GPS coordinates supplied by the missing party through cell phone communication with FCCC. A Ground crew later assisted with the search. The missing couple was located by Chopper One personnel, and a Fire Search and Resue ground crew assisted with extricating couple to safety and flying them out of the forest. There were no injuries reported. All units returned to quarters without incident.
