Father, Daughter Die After Being Swept From Hawaii Tidal Pool

Eric Chaney
Published: July 20,2016
Mark Hornor, 46, and his 6-year-old daughter Mina have been identified as the father and daughter who died last Saturday in Hawaii when Mina was swept into the ocean at the Makapuu Tide Pools on Oahu.
According to NBC Bay Area, Hornor was on vacation with his three daughters when a large wave knocked Mina out into the surf. Hornor tried to rescue her, but a series of rogue waves instantly swept them both out.
"He was just a fantastic human being; he jumped in tried to save her,” Hornor's brother, Matthew, told the Associated Press. “And I don't think he wanted to come back empty-handed.”
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Mark Hornor and his 6-year-old daughter Mina both died Saturday after being swept into the ocean off Oahu, Hawaii.
(The Hornor Family)

According to weather.com meteorologist Chris Dolce, the island was still feeling the effects of Hurricane Celia, which didn’t hit the island but generated large surf off the coast. A NOAA buoy nearby showed waves as high as 6 feet for most of Saturday.
“We know that the conditions were rough. It was very choppy out there,” Shayne Enright, a spokeswoman for the Honolulu Emergency Services Department, told the Los Angeles Times. “It was very windy and the surf was coming in from different directions.”
Hornor's older daughters, who are 8 and 12 years old, were left "clinging to rocks," Matthew told NBC Bay Area, but survived with the help of a good Samaritan.
Witnesses called 911 and lifeguards on jet skis recovered Mark and Mina, both unresponsive, in about 10 minutes, the Los Angeles Times reported. Lifeguards performed CPR on the scene.
"There was no movement," witness Jamie DeMatoff told CBS News. "His body was lifeless just like the little girl. My heart just sank just watching this happen."
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Both were taken to a hospital in critical condition, where they later died.
"On a day like [Saturday], it wasn't for families down there," Enright told KGMB. "Conditions were not favorable. It's too windy, there's a High Surf Advisory. It's extremely dangerous."
But Mark’s brother told NBC Bay Area that Hornor was an avid surfer and no stranger to the water.
"I think he just died of exhaustion, trying to get to her.”
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