Ex-Phoenix High Schooler Plunges 400 Feet To Death In Hawaii

PHOENIX, AZ — A former Phoenix high school student plunged to his death while hiking in Hawaii, media outlets said. Nathan Stowell, 24, was hiking the Olomana Trail on Easter Sunday in Kailua when he tried to retrieve a hat that had fallen, news outlets reported.

"Kid's hat blew off and he told the kid, 'Don't get the hat. Let me get it,' because Nathan felt he had better balance, and he fell 400 feet to his death," friend and mentor James Keener told KHON-TV. "He's just an absolute amazing human being. We are just blessed to have him in our lives as long as we had him."

Battalion Chief Damien Kahaulelio told the news outlet it took firefighters two hours to find Stowell's body because of where he'd fallen.

"Where he was found, it was a heavy canopy, meaning it was an area where there are lots of trees, and it was a pretty steep fall that he suffered," Kahaulelio explained.

An aerial search was performed.

Lexis Sweeney, Stowell's sister, told KHLN-TV she thought it was a "sick April Fools' joke" at first. Stowell had video-called her over Facetime while he was on the first peak.

“My brother died doing what he loved but it was literally a horrific accident," Sweeney said.

Stowell's Facebook page says he went to Thunderbird High School in Phoenix and worked at Hawaiian Fresh Farms. He was living in Pupukea, Hawaii.

A GoFundMe campaign has been created to help cover the family's airfare, rental cars and general expenses following Stowell's death. More than $4,100 had been raised in less than a day.

According to KHNL-TV, the trail on Mount Olomana isn't sanctioned by the state and officials have tried to prevent the spread of online videos drawing hikers to the steep mountain range.

A Florida hiker on the trail three years ago fell about 200 feet to his death. A year earlier, an off-duty firefighter fell to his death and a social worker suffered a fatal fall in 2011.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo credit: GoFundMe