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T HE R E S P ONDE R - N EWS LETTER O F T H E NAT I ONAL R E S P ONS E DI R E C T OR AT E

Auxiliary Air Crew Locates Missing

Paddleboarder in Hawaii

by S. Scott Alfassa, MPA (Editor)

Interagency Search & Rescue Operation Takes Place off Coast of Maui

On August 5, 2021, about an hour after sunset, the daughter of a paddleboarder contacted emergency
services as her mother was overdue off the coast of Maui, Hawaii. It was approximately 2000 and the call
went into Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point which was located on the island of Oahu, some 85
nautical miles to the west. Within minutes, a multi-pronged search and rescue (SAR) effort was launched,
as Coastguardsmen searched for a 51-year-old woman wearing a blue personal flotation device on a

white paddleboard. The search resulted in the AUXAIR crew locating the woman who was quickly rescued.

AUXAIR Pilot Robert “Bob” Emami

United States Coast Guard Auxiliary ‘R’ Directorate Fall 2021
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