Luckily for Misty the puppy, a dog rescuer and rappeller named Kawika Singson was able to come to her rescue in a remote part of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Misty the puppy was in a remote are of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park when she got into a tight spot, literally.

Though it’s unclear exactly how it happened, Misty ended up at the bottom of narrow volcanic fissure that was 25 feet deep on June 9. She couldn’t get out and her owner couldn’t get down.

Luckily for Misty, a self-appointed dog rescuer and rappeller with no formal training named Kawika Singson is well-known on the Big Island. Her owner, who had heard about Singson through social media, reached out.

“There are like five volcanoes (on the island),” Singson, a former military man and avid athlete, recently told USA TODAY. “Some of these dogs, they end up wandering in large, very thin volcanic fissures − basically a crack in the ground that goes very deep.”

He added: “Not many people can actually go under.” But Singson can.

Dog rescuer drives 2 hours to Misty’s rescue

When Singson got the call about Misty’s plight, he knew he had to help. Misty’s owner did all he could to save Misty but found it impossible.

“They couldn’t even squeeze down to the crack,” Singson said. “They could hear the dog, but they could not see the dog.”

So Singson drove about two hours from where he was to the other side of the island before going into a dense forest area where Misty was trapped. When he arrived, he also could hear Misty but not see her.

“I put my lights on, and I got my ropes, and I somehow, I squeezed down into the crack, and I could see the dog down at the bottom,” Singson said. “She was about 25 feet down in the volcano and she was very anxious and looking up.”

Singson reaches bottom of crevice

Singson said that the crevice from where he entered the fissure was “extremely vertical,” and narrow.

Video that Singson took with his GoPro and shared with USA TODAY shows him rappelling slowly and squeezing down into the crevice, which appears just barely wider than Singson’s body.

When he arrives to the bottom, Misty is clearly distraught and whining. By that point she had been stuck in the crevice for about nine hours.

“She was scared,” Singson told Maui News. “Her paws were bloody cause she was trying to scratch her way out.”

Singson tried to comfort Misty as best he could, telling the Catahoula leopard dog: “Hey girl, it’s OK. It’s OK … You ready to go up, Misty?”

Singson was able to hook Misty up with a harness, and then people at the top were able to pull her to safety.

It was “pretty dramatic because it was pretty difficult getting down into it, even more difficult getting back out with the dog,” Singson said.

This was not Singson’s first dog rescue

Singson told USA TODAY that he has previously rescued at least six dogs, three of which were stuck in similar situations as Misty’s.

“Because I’ve done this several times before, I’ve learned what to bring in and not be afraid of tight spaces,” he said.

Simpson documents his adventures and rescue missions with his GoPro and Misty’s rescue was no different. The former military man is also a bit of local celebrity with his own TV show called “Everything Hawaii.”

Singson is not a formally trained rescuer. It’s something he does out of the goodness of his heart.

“I used to be in the military at one point, and I worked in construction for many years,” Singson says. “So I’m very athletic, very agile. These things, for me, they’re pretty easy … I’m not afraid to go down to try to get these dogs out.”

Misty’s owner, identified by local news outlets as a local man named Cody Gomes, told Island News that he gave Singson gas money for his long drive. Otherwise, Singson does the rescues for free.

“I told him, you know, ‘You’re very gifted and blessed because there’s not like a lot of people that would do what you do,’” Gomes told the station. “Especially out of the kindness of their heart. I had no words to explain how grateful and thankful I was.”

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X @saman_shafiq7.

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A woman who’s been called the “Oprah of China” says she’s heartbroken over the killing of a protected bird on her former North Shore property.

Yue-Sai Kan says she didn’t order its death and donated the multi-million dollar property to the state to avoid a long legal fight.

The media and cosmetics mogul has a wall of fame in her Hawaii home, showing off her interactions with everyone from former President Barack Obama to actress Halle Berry, and a lifetime of global experiences detailed in her new book “The Most Famous Woman in China.”

“BYU was my school and I literally grew up for years, 16 to 20. I was in Laie and when I saw this piece of land, I thought how wonderful it would be,” Kan told Hawaii News Now.

Last year, controversy erupted at her 4.7-acre property at Marconi Point in Kahuku after the death of a protected native mōlī (Laysan albatross) named Ho’okipa. State investigators reported a groundsworker threw a rock at the bird’s head, which angered conservationists.

Entrepreneur dubbed ‘Chinese Oprah’ poised to donate beachfront property to avoid high fines

“Of course, I was very sad. There was a bird that was raising eggs on my property and we were so excited,” said Kan.

“I’m not a bird killer. I’m a daughter of a horticulturist,” she added.

Kan says she wanted to create a kukui and taro farm for the community and was in Europe when it happened.

Hawaii News Now asked what happened to the groundkeeper.

“Honestly, I don’t know and I have never met him. I don’t know him. Actually, I think we didn’t even hire him directly. We hired someone else to clear our weeds for us and that person hired him,” said Kan.

Kan could have faced $1.5 million in fines for alleged violations, but says rather than a long legal fight, she decided to donate her more than $5 million property to the North Shore Community Land Trust.

“I don’t have the time, nor the energy or the age to try to fight everything,” said Kan.

She says she was not aware of the regulations over her land.

The “settlement does not compensate the state for the devastating loss of the albatross, the bees, or of high-quality habitat, but ensures that Unit 1 (the donated land) is preserved for the benefit of those same species and restored with their survival in mind,” said the Department of Land and Natural Resources, in a statement.

“The DLNR has agreed to not pursue criminal charges and Kan is not required to admit fault, liability, guilt, or obligation,” the state agency added.

“We will make the highest use of this opportunity to advance our efforts to fully restore this amazing coastal dune environment,” said Adam Borrello, executive director at the North Shore Community Land Trust, in a statement.

Kan believes her portrayal has been unfair, but says with the donation, it’s time to move on and focus on the philanthropy.

“I do care more that the land is under the stewardship of people who know how to take care of that land,” she said.

Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

WASHINGTON (AP) — David Letterman will headline a fundraiser with President Joe Biden in 10 days at the home of Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, a person familiar with the plans told The Associated Press, a sign that his campaign is forging ahead despite continued calls for the president to bow out of the 2024 race.

The fundraiser on July 29 will feature the longtime late-night host, plus Biden and first lady Jill Biden, said the person, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss plans that had not yet been made public. The campaign has at least 10 other fundraising events over the last 10 days of July.

Letterman helmed CBS’ “Late Show” for 22 seasons. The event comes as other celebrities like George Clooney, director Rob Reiner and Stephen King have called on Biden to drop out of the 2024 race, following his disastrous debate performance on June 27. There’s also been growing concern over continued fundraising support after anxious donors expressed serious worries about his performance and the future of the party.

Biden insists he is the best person to beat Donald Trump and is not stepping away. On Friday, Biden, who is recovering from COVID-19 at his Rehoboth Beach home, called for party unity and sought to shift the focus back to Donald Trump’s agenda.

He said he was looking forward to getting back on the campaign trail next week to challenge the Republican’s claims, “while making the case for my own record and the vision that I have for America: one where we save our democracy, protect our rights and freedoms, and create opportunity for everyone.”

“The stakes are high, and the choice is clear,” he said. “Together, we will win.”

Green is hosting the event as a growing number of lawmakers have expressed doubts over Biden’s candidacy. Green has known the Biden family for years — his wife’s uncle was Biden’s college roommate — and he told the AP in an interview the decision whether or not to leave the race has to come from Biden himself.

“I think the president stays in this race unless he feels that it is not winnable, or he feels that he has to hear other voices in his inner circle that he shouldn’t run,” Green said. “If the president felt that he wasn’t up to it and truly not up to it, he would step down.”

Green has been governor of Hawaii since 2022, managing the state through the devastating wildfires last summer.