Kirk Passmore, a 32-year-old male surfer, was last seen on November 13, 2013, off the North Shore of Oahu in the Haleiwa area of Hawaii, where he entered the water during powerful surf at a spot identified in missing-person records as Leftovers, near 61-389 Kamehameha Highway. He was a white male with red or auburn hair and hazel eyes, about 6 feet 3 inches tall and 185 pounds, and he was reportedly wearing black board shorts when he disappeared.
The conditions that day were dangerous: the area was under a high-surf warning, with waves reported in the 25- to 35-foot range, and Passmore was surfing without a flotation device. He was seen wiping out on a large wave, estimated around 20 feet, and then disappearing beneath the water.
Passmore was not a casual visitor unfamiliar with the ocean. Accounts from the surfing community described him as an experienced and expert surfer who had spent years in demanding waves, including well-known breaks in Hawaii, California, Mexico, and elsewhere. He grew up in Carlsbad, California, had been part of his high school surf team, began traveling to Hawaii as a teenager, and later moved to the North Shore full-time. By the time he vanished, he was connected to the local surf community through his work as part owner of Third Stone Surfboards in Wailua and as a manager at Banzai Sushi in Haleiwa.
On the morning of the incident, Passmore was reportedly surfing among highly skilled big-wave surfers at one of Oahu’s outer reefs. According to an eyewitness account published by SURFING Magazine, he took off on one of the larger sets of the day, made the drop, but carried too much momentum at the bottom and went over the handlebars. The account described how he appeared to surface in a troubling position, possibly disoriented or injured, before another wave passed over him. His board broke, he became separated from it, and he was not wearing a flotation vest, a fact that made locating him in the moving water far more difficult.
The response began almost immediately. Other surfers and water-safety personnel searched from boards and jet skis, and the search expanded with rescuers and aircraft scanning the area. Witnesses and rescuers faced the same brutal ocean conditions that had taken Passmore from view: heavy surf, strong water movement, and limited time to find someone who had gone under in a large-wave zone. Reports state that his surfboard later washed ashore, but he was not recovered despite rescue and later recovery efforts.
The available public information leaves a painful and incomplete ending for those who loved him. Authorities have stated that they believe Passmore drowned, but public missing-person records continue to describe a case in which he was never found. The core facts remain stark: Kirk Passmore was 32 years old when he disappeared while surfing in Haleiwa, Hawaii, on November 13, 2013; he was an accomplished surfer in dangerous high-surf conditions; he wiped out, became separated from his board, and vanished beneath the water; an extensive search followed, but no recovery was made. The case stands as a heartbreaking reminder of both the beauty and danger of the ocean, and of a man remembered by family, friends, and the surf community for a life deeply tied to the waves.Last Seen: Nov 13, 2013
