A catch of a lifetime may have cost a man his life.
Police in Hawaii said Mark Knittle, 63, was fishing with a friend off Honaunau on the Big Island this weekend when he caught an ahi or tuna, The Associated Press reported.
The fishing companion said Knittle exclaimed “The fish is huge” before Knittle fell into the water.
The friend, who was not identified, tried to grab the line but Knittle went under within seconds. When the friend jumped into the water to try to find the fisherman, he couldn’t see him.
The U.S. Coast Guard and the Hawaii County Fire Department are searching for Knittle, Hawaii News Now reported, but officials said this is not a normal water search.
Typically they have people go overboard near the coast, but Knittle fell out of the boat in the deep water, Hawaii County Fire Department assistant chief of operations Darwin Okinaka told the AP.
They also have to account for the fish, which can weigh up to several hundred pounds, while Knittle weighed about 185 pounds, police said in a news release.
“If there’s a fish that’s actually pulling him around, you don’t know where he could go,” Okinaka told the AP.
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