Samuel Wheaton Bower, 58, disappeared on December 2, 2009 after renting a 21-foot Triumph boat with a blue Bimini top from Kona Boat Rentals. He left Honokohau Harbor in Kailua-Kona around 10:30 a.m., told the rental company he planned to meet friends and expected to return by 5:30 p.m., and was last seen sailing near the Pine Trees surf area. When he did not return, the rental boat was found at about 6:15 p.m. unoccupied and motoring in circles roughly three miles off the Kona coast, north of Honokohau Harbor. The U.S. Coast Guard and the Hawaii Fire Department conducted an extensive search; the Hawaii Police Department investigated but found no trace of Bower.

Bower was described as a Caucasian male, 6 feet 3 inches to 6 feet 4 inches tall, weighing 220 to 240 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. Fishing gear was found aboard the boat, and the circumstances have led to the presumption that he perished at sea, though his body has never been recovered and the exact events remain unknown.

Did anyone who knew Bower or who was on the water that day see his boat or notice anything unusual near Pine Trees on December 2, 2009?