KEAUHOU — Valerie Moreno lost sight of her husband after waves swept him off the rocks at the cliff jumping spot at End of the World on Thursday.
His voice calling out to her between wave sets was the only sign the California woman had that her husband was still alive. Trapped inside the nook of a cave for 40 minutes, Raymond Moreno’s rescue came when a Sea Quest tour boat saw his family frantic onshore.
“God sent them at the perfect time,” Valerie said of the Sea Quest boat.
Raymond was released from the Kona Community Hospital Friday afternoon. He suffered a concussion and swallowed a lot of sea water. Doctors were able to clear his lungs, Valerie said.
The Morenos have been on a family vacation with their three children, ages 13, 7 and 4. On Thursday, they decided to go to End of World, a popular spot located at the end of Alii Drive that is known for cliff jumping.
Valerie said her 13-year-old son cliff jumped, but was unable to get back to the rocks. Raymond attempted to pull him in from the rocks with a T-shirt but was unsuccessful.
“The waves pushed my husband off the rocks,” Valerie said.
While their teenage son was able to make it back to the rocks, Raymond was stuck in the waves and ended up finding protection from the crashing surf in a nook in the cave nearby.
Just north of where the Morenos were, a Sea Quest tour boat, captained by Lauren Cutler, with crewmember Skyler Marciel, were with 10 guests watching the high waves crash on the cliffs at End of the World. At about noon, Cutler and Skyler saw one of the Moreno children running along the dirt trail onshore waving his arms.
“Initially, I don’t think they knew how serious it was,” Cutler recalled of her guests.
As she took the boat in closer, Valerie was able to relay to Cutler and Marciel the dire situation of her husband. Cutler, experienced in water rescues, and Marciel began plans to save Raymond.
Cutler said she couldn’t see the man initially, but could hear him. Eventually, she learned he had wedged himself in a little nook in the cave.
“I hailed the channel 16 for the Coast Guard,” Cutler said. “The man’s wife said she was on the phone with 911.”
Wicked Wahine and Dolphin Discoveries heard Cutler’s hail and responded to the scene.
Cutler said their boat is equipped with a life ring. So she left Marciel at the wheel and jumped in the water with the ring.
As Cutler made her way to Raymond, another set came in and crashed on the rocks, forcing her to wait.
When she made contact with Raymond, Cutler said he was afraid to let go of the rocks. Explaining that they had a short window to act, the California man left the nook and took the life ring.
“Guests were helping pull the line in,” Cutler said. “We needed to lengthen our line and Wicked Wahine provided a longer rope.”
Cutler said Raymond was able to climb the stairs into the boat. Once on board, he collapsed, threw up then passed out.
He was still breathing.
Emergency crews instructed Cutler and Marciel to meet them at Keauhou Bay.
Once back at the bay, Cutler said Raymond was able to get out of the boat with assistance.
“His wife came down and was kissing him,” she said. “That’s what sticks with you the most when you see the emotional ties to people.”
After that, Raymond was transported by medics to the hospital.
This was Marciel’s first rescue with Sea Quest. He said they had good teamwork that day.
“I was a little shaken up, but you think clearly,” Marciel said. “If you start freaking out, everyone freaks out.”
Cutler said she sees an uptick in incidents similar to what happened Thursday during the winter months.
“I hope he’s OK — water safety is so important,” she said. “We always say: ‘Don’t keep your back to the ocean because you never know what she’s going to do.’”
Valerie was grateful to Cutler and God for the rescue of her husband.
“Everybody was amazing,” she said. “He’s only alive because of them.”
The last drowning reported at End of the World was in February 2016.