On January 20, 2024, the Honolulu Fire Department (HFD) received a 911 call at 7:22
p.m. for a hiker on the Kuliouou Trail in Aina Haina and responded with 5 units staffed
with 17 personnel. The first unit arrived on scene at 7:35 p.m. and ascended on foot to
begin a ground search. Additional units secured a landing zone at the Kuliouou
District Park in preparation for a search and rescue operation by air.

It was reported that a 28-year-old male hiker, who had been hiking for three and one-half
hours, became lost and was suffering from muscle cramps. Even though he only had
four percent of battery life on his cell phone remaining, fire dispatchers were able to
obtain his geolocation with a high degree of confidence. With that information, Air 1 was
able to locate him in the darkness and inserted a rescuer at his location where a medical
assessment was completed to confirm he was not injured. He was then packaged and
airlifted safely to the nearby landing zone where he declined further medical care at 8:27
p.m.

All HFD personnel were accounted for with no injuries.