PUPUKEA, Hawaii (KHON2) — Honolulu police confirmed the man who was pulled from the water at Three Tables Beach on Monday, Nov. 11 has died.
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According to military officials, the 29-year-old soldier was based in Washington state. It’s the third drowning on Oahu’s North Shore in less than a month.
Missing snorkeler found off Three Tables
Three people were snorkeling at Three Tables on Monday when they got into trouble with a rising swell.
“Unfortunately, we had people that came to this beach with mask and snorkel gear and jumped in the water, got caught and stuck in trouble, got caught in the rip current,” said Lt. Jesse King, Honolulu Ocean Safety.
Two were rescued from the water, but the 29-year-old was seen caught behind the reef.
“They’re all waving and the wave literally blew them right over the reef and both of them were cut head to toe after that. Then the third guy, he was under,” recalled Eric Olson who lives across the street from Three Tables.
Olson has made many rescues himself over the years and said the man was under for more than 30 minutes.
“Between the fire rescue and the lifeguard rescue, there was 10 guys out there risking their lives trying to find him,” he added.
The man was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis McChord in Washington confirmed one of their soldiers passed away.
“At this time, we can confirm the passing of a Soldier assigned to Madigan Army Medical Center, Joint Base Lewis-McChord on November 11, 2024. Our thoughts and condolences are with the family, friends and fellow service members during this incredibly difficult time. The incident is currently under investigation, and we cannot release additional information at this time.”
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Maj. Michelle A. Liebel-Salopek, the executive officer for Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
According to the state health department data, ocean drownings have been on the rise up until the pandemic, with nearly 1,000 drownings in the last 10 years.
2013 – 76 drownings
2014 – 77 drownings
2015 – 80 drownings
2016 – 61 drownings
2017 – 97 drownings
2018 – 102 drownings
2019 – 107 drownings
2020 – 54 drownings
2021 – 94 drownings
2022 – 102 drownings
2023 – 70* (numbers not fully complete for the year)
The DOH said 51% of drownings are visitors.
Another double drowning happened at Ke Iki Beach in October. Both Ke Iki and Three Tables are unguarded beaches.
Honolulu Ocean Safety said they have support from the city and the public to place a new tower somewhere on the North Shore.
“Ideally in a perfect world, we would have a tower at every beach. That’s a process, slow process over time that we hope to accomplish,” said Lt. King.
“There’s been a lot of deaths here,” Olson said. “As far as the tower is concerned, it’s a toss up we need two towers.”
“Both places are just too dangerous for the amount of people coming here,” said North Shore resident and big wave surfer Chris Owens.
Ocean Safety wants to remind visitors of the extreme winter surf conditions on Oahu’s North Shore and said most North Shore beaches are not safe to swim or snorkel from October through April.
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