MEDIA RELEASE

A teenager died Thursday, Oct. 29 from injuries he sustained when he fell 80 to 90 feet down Mamaewa Gulch off of Kohala Mountain Road in South Kohala, police reported.

The victim was identified as Shea Walling of a Honokaa address.

Police determined Walling slipped while attempting to climb out of the gulch at about 10 a.m., falling to the bottom of a 120-foot dried up waterfall.

A 16-year-old male hiking companion also fell and sustained cracked ribs and several scrapes. He was listed later Thursday in serious condition. A third hiker, a 19-year-old man, was not injured.

Fire Rescue personnel extracted Walling and his two male companions from the gulch.

Walling was transported to Kona Community Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 3:38 p.m.

Police have ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death and have classified the incident as a coroner’s inquest.

Mamaewa Gulch is located at the 4 mile marker on Route 250.