A college student tragically died after falling from a muddy Hawaii hiking trail during an illegal New Year’s Eve party.

Tiare Couto, 19, slipped and plunged to her death while walking out of the Pūpūkea-Paumalū State Park Reserve in Oahu while it was pouring rain on the early morning on January 1.

More than 200 teens and young adults gathered for the annual illicit party in a woodsy area along the trail.

According to a Honolulu police report obtained by The Honolulu Civil Beat, a group of young women found an officer in an elementary school parking lot near the head of the trail at around 12:30 am. 

They told the cop they had lost their friend while leaving the crowded party. The officer and the women waited for three hours as other attendees emerged from the trailhead. 

By 4 am, the police officer was told that Couto, originally from Oahu, was still nowhere to be found and had not filed out of the trail with the other partiers. 

The cop went to explore the trail when he heard someone urgently screaming for help, according to the report.

A father of one of the women who told the officer that they could not find Couto had located her – she had fallen and was unresponsive.

The Hawaii native was studying Environmental & Sustainability Studies and Political Science at the University of Utah 

More than 200 teens and young adults gathered for the annual illicit party at trail 

The Honolulu Fire Department arrived at the scene to get her out of the woods. Around 6 am, emergency services transported her to the hospital in critical condition. 

Couto later succumbed to her serious injuries in the hospital. 

Phillip Verso, an investigator with the Honolulu Medical Examiner’s Office, told the Civil Beat that her cause of death was a ‘penetrating injury’. 

The fatal party has raised concerns from locals each year, Civil Beat reported, with young party-goers hiking through dangerous, dark and slippery conditions. 

The party, organized on social media and through word of mouth, has prompted community complaints for several years. 

The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) is now investigating the unpermitted event. 

DLNR spokesperson Dan Dennison told the DailyMail.com: ‘The DLNR Division of State Parks would never approve a request for an event of this type, night or day, in an undeveloped park reserve area without safe and developed facilities and access routes.

‘When given advance warning of advertised illegal events like this in the past (typically vis social media), DLNR has been successful in contacting the organizers and getting the events cancelled.’

Couto has been described as a kind and adventurous person, who was often pictured traveling with her friends 

Couto enjoyed surfing while growing up in her hometown of Oahu. Her father used to be a professional surfer 

Part of the investigation will include a ‘timeline that includes when and what information was provided,’ police spokesperson Michelle Yu told the Civil Beat when she was asked what caused the delay in Couto’s search. 

Couto attended the University of Utah and was pursuing a double major in Environmental & Sustainability Studies and Political Science, according to her school’s website. 

She was drawn to Utah because she loved to ski, she wrote, and she chose her fields of study because of her ‘strong passion for promoting sustainable change through policy and advocacy.’

‘One of my biggest aspirations is to exemplify to those of ALL backgrounds that there are things they may not realize are reliant on the well-being and health of our planet and require our efforts to protect,’ she said in November, 2024. 

‘You can be an environmental science major, a business major, a Republican or Democrat, raised by the beach, or in the middle of Ohio, to realize that the things you love won’t be able to flourish without the protection of our planet, with the priority of our planet being put first in front.’

Couto’s Instagram page was flooded with pictures of her skiing, surfing and traveling with friends.  

In the two weeks after Couto’s horrific death, her loved ones have been mourning the sudden loss of the outgoing student.

Her father Danilo, the founder of Big Wave Risk assessment Group and former pro-surfer, shared photos of him and his daughter smiling together in a heartfelt Instagram tribute last week. 

Couto aspired to help protect the environment and advocate for sustainable change

On Sunday, community members gathered to celebrate and honor Couto’s life though a traditional dance performance

One of Couto’s friends wrote that ‘she was the kind of person who made life better simply by being there’ 

He said: ‘My daughter, rest in peace and calm, your mission was accomplished with excellence, you taught true love wherever you went, continue loving teaching and with your infectious energy live your new divine journey.’

One of Couto’s friends, Ella Male, shared sentimental words about her in a post on Saturday.

‘At just 19, Tiare had the brightest smile, the kindest heart, and a joy that could lift anyone around her. 

‘She was the kind of person who made life better simply by being there, and her light touched everyone she met.’

A GoFundMe has been created to support Couto’s family during these difficult times and $2,500 have been donated so far toward its $25,000 goal. 

Briel Allman, the page’s creator, wrote: ‘She fully embraced the vitality and energy that life gave her. Experiencing it with an open heart and a passion to do better for our planet.

‘She had the love of Oahu’s breathtaking North Shore and the backdrop of Utah’s snow-capped mountains as two of her many inspirations to protect and fight against single use plastics, climate change, and environmental racism.

The DLNR said they would never allow an event like the party where Couto died on New Years

Couto was found several hours after her friends notified a police officer that she had gone missing 

Her father Danilo, the founder of Big Wave Risk assessment Group and former pro-surfer, shared an online tribute for his daughter 

‘Tiare’s spirit will be in every grain of sand and every snowflake, her memory carried in the hearts of so many. We are all better because of her light, her passion, and her joy. May she rest in peace and know that her short life inspired countless people.’

On Sunday, community members gathered to celebrate and honor Couto’s life though a traditional dance performance.

The DailyMail.com has reached out to Honolulu’s police and fire departments for comment.

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Elon Musk wants to splashdown his SpaceX rockets in a much larger area in Hawaii waters and Hawaii residents are encouraged to weigh in.

The space exploration company is asking the FAA for a landing zone about 20 times larger than its current zone.

The proposal also seeks to increase the number of landings from 5 to 25 a year.

The new area would include waters used by fishermen and humpback whales. It’ll also encompass significant areas like Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.

A FAA biological opinion from 2022 found the previous landing area would not cause harm to marine mammals or critical habitats.

Currently, the FAA is not conducting an environmental impact statement but public feedback could trigger a review.

The deadline to submit input is this Friday.

Click here to submit input.

Copyright 2025 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaiian Electric unveiled a $450 million plan Monday to reduce the risk of wildfires over the next three years.

The wildfire safety strategy includes technical and infrastructure upgrades such as installing sparkless fuses, changing 213 substation relays, installing 53 weather stations in wildfire-prone areas, and managing vegetation and placing heavy-duty insulation on power lines in the highest-risk areas.

“Our 2025-2027 expanded wildfire safety strategy builds upon our past work and that of many others. It is not just a technical roadmap, it is our shared and steadfast commitment to a safer, more resilient Hawaii,” said Shelee Kimura, president and CEO of Hawaiian Electric.

HECO also said they want to add more AI-assisted video cameras in high- and medium-wildfire risk areas.

HECO has already replaced more than 2,000 wooden poles and improved 23 miles of overhead lines, and will begin moving two miles of overhead lines in Lahaina underground.

The utility wants to also create a so-called “watch office” to track wildfire conditions.

“Having this kind of watch office that’s really focused on having the information at the right time, that can make a big difference when you’re talking about hazardous conditions and severe weather,” said HECO Spokesperson Darrin Pai.

HECO confirms Oahu’s west side is one of its fine prone areas and will be among the places it focuses on.

That includes fire mitigation such as removing brush and vegetation from HECO infrastructure.

“I am grateful this is being done,” said Tiana Wilbur with the Waianae Neighborhood Board.

Two years ago, Wilbur took HNN crews to an area in Makaha Valley that residents warned could be the next “Lahaina”.

She’s hoping HECO’s actions might also send a message to private land owners.

“There was a fire last year. It was very concerning because we took you guys to that area and then there was a fire. SO there is still brush in that area,” said Wilbur.

HECO’s safety plan was first created in 2019, but was updated in 2023 in response to the August Maui wildfires.

It says some of its funding comes from existing programs, including a federal grant.

The utility added that it is continuing to refine the program and the long-term cost and scope of work are subject to change.

The Public Utilities Commission is now reviewing the plan.

Copyright 2025 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.