Richard Yoshio Shiroma was a 60-year-old Asian male from Kaneohe, Hawaii, who was last seen or last heard from on June 16, 2004, during what began as a familiar day on the water. He had gone fishing alone from the Kaneohe area in his 25-foot boat, reported in local coverage as the Bingo II, and was fishing offshore near Laie when he contacted a friend at about 2 p.m. to say he had caught a marlin and was towing it in.
The moment should have marked the proud end of a successful fishing trip, but Richard never returned to Kaneohe as expected. When the hours passed and he still had not come back, his friend became worried and alerted the Coast Guard at around 6 p.m., beginning a search that quickly grew into a major air-and-sea effort.
Searchers first looked toward Kaneohe, but the focus shifted after a security guard at Turtle Bay reported that Richard’s boat had come ashore. The vessel was found beached near Turtle Bay with the engine still running and a large marlin still attached to it, a detail that made the disappearance especially haunting. A Coast Guard representative described the circumstances as strange, noting that the guard had to turn the engine off after the boat came in without Richard aboard. The discovery raised urgent questions: whether Richard had fallen overboard, suffered a sudden emergency, or been separated from the boat while trying to manage the fish or the vessel. What was clear was that the boat had continued on without him, carrying the marlin he had been so close to bringing home.
For Richard’s family and friends, the disappearance was deeply difficult to understand because he was described as a veteran fisherman, an experienced boater, safety conscious, a good swimmer, and a capable mariner. Friends and relatives joined the Coast Guard and Honolulu Fire Department in searching by air, sea, and along the coast, with efforts extending across a wide stretch of Oahu shoreline from Kaneohe toward Kaena Point. Local reporting emphasized the anguish and uncertainty surrounding the search, especially because Richard had not been portrayed as someone careless or unfamiliar with the ocean. The same waters that had been part of his life and recreation had suddenly become the place where every minute mattered and every possible sighting carried hope.
The search continued for several days, but public reports later said it was suspended after three days. A memorial service was scheduled for Richard Yoshio Shiroma, who was described in one account as a retired telephone company executive and Kaneohe fisherman who had been lost at sea after disappearing while fishing alone. Those details show how the case was felt not only as a maritime emergency, but as the loss of a husband, relative, friend, and respected local fisherman whose final known act was doing something he loved. In overview, Richard Shiroma’s case centers on a June 16, 2004 fishing trip off Oahu: he radioed that he had caught a marlin, failed to return, and his empty boat later ran aground at Turtle Bay with its motor running and the marlin still lashed to it, leaving behind a painful and enduring mystery for those who knew and loved him.Last Seen: Jun 16, 2004
