Fire/Rescue units and Chopper 1 responded to a 5:55 p.m. alarm for a missing 35 year-old shoreline fisherman in Pahoa’s Hawaiian Beaches area Wednesday evening.

A friend of the fisherman reported that the victim jumped into the water while holding onto a rope to cross a channel onto rocks but he was unable to pull himself out of the water. The friend then tried to help but could not pull the fisherman out. The victim’s friend was unable to cross the channel himself for two hours to reach the main shoreline and call for help.

The search for the victim was suspended due to darkness and will resume in the morning.

The National Weather Service issued a high surf advisory for the east facing shores of the Big Island until 6 p.m. Thursday.