Tyler Madoff, courtesy Scarsdale High Yearbook
The Hawaii County Fire Department is continuing the search for Tylor Madoff, 15, the New York boy who was swept into the ocean at Ka’awaloa Point at Kealakekua Bay on Wednesday afternoon.
Madoff, a student at Scarsdale High School in White Plains, New York, was on a guided kayak tour with about a dozen teens and four adults. Madoff and another 15-year-old boy, who were kayaking together, separated from the group and paddled to shore. They were exploring a tidal pool when high waves washed them into the ocean about 3:25 p.m. Wednesday. They were washed into the Bay by the Ka’awaloa Lighthouse in high surf. The second 15-year-old boy from Miami, Florida, was rescued by one of the tour guides, who flagged down a private tour boat to take him to the Kealakekua Bay Pier. He was transported to Kona Community Hospital and then to Queen’s Medical Center. There is no word on his condition.
Both the Coast Guard and the Hawaii County Fire Department have been involved in the search, but the Coast Guard suspended its portion of the search Thursday night after finding no sign of the missing boy. The Coast Guard’s search effort, using an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and the Coast Guard Cutter Ahi , covered a 185-square-mile-plus area extending 11 miles from shore. The Hawaii County Fire Department has been conducting a walking shoreline search and using its Rescue Chopper to search the ocean. Private boats and several scuba divers searching underwater have also been involved. They have been using Coast Guard data to try to determine in which direction Madoff’s body might have gone.
Madoff’s high school coach told the Journal News, a Westchester County paper, that Madoff is a strong rower whose team won a silver medal at the New York State Rowing Championship in the spring. Madoff, who had just completed his sophomore year, is also a starting linebacker for the varsity football team at Scarsdale High School. His family and friends held the hope that the strong young man would be able to survive. But at this point, the Fire Department is in a recovery mode, not a rescue mode as it’s unlikely he would have survived this long.
Hawaii County Fire Department is resuming its search Sunday morning. Normally they would suspend the search after three days, but Madoff’s parents, Michael and Marianne Madoff, made a request to continue the search one more day. They arrived Friday from New York.
