Hawai’i Island police are investigating a possible drowning in the Kona district.

On Monday, February 27, 2023, at approximately 11:55 a.m., officers responded to a report of a swimmer in distress at Honaunau Boat Ramp in South Kona. Beach bystanders extracted the swimmer from the ocean and began CPR until personnel from the Hawai’i Fire Department arrived and continued life-saving measures. However, attempts to resuscitate the victim at the scene were unsuccessful.

Police have identified the 75-year-old unresponsive woman as Carol Mugleston of Layton, Utah. Paramedics transported Mugleston to the Kona Community Hospital, where a doctor pronounced her dead at 1:13 p.m.

Police have initiated a coroner’s inquest investigation and have ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death. Hawai’i police ask anyone with information on this incident to call the police department’s non-emergency line at (808) 935-3311.