A current photo of surfer Alec Cooke is being shared by Honolulu PD as part of the search effort taking place near Waimea. Photo: Shutterstock/Honolulu Police
On Tuesday, October 27th, Alec “Ace Cool” Cooke left his home to go surfing on the North Shore of Oahu. And for the the past three days since then, firefighters and ocean safety and coast guard officials have been searching for him. On Wednesday the 59-year old big wave surfer’s girlfriend reported him missing to police after he never returned from that surf session the afternoon before.
Search personnel found his truck with the keys still inside, as well as his dog, near Saints Peter and Paul Mission Church on Kamehameha Highway. So lifeguards and firefighters are still searching the ocean between Haleiwa and Sharks Cove, while a missing persons bulletin has been issued by police and a call from the Coast Guard for anybody and everybody to keep the search up for Cooke.
Born in Boston Massachusetts and raised in Hawaii, “Ace Cool” was one of big wave surfing’s biggest names in the 80’s. He was famously quoted in reference to his place in the big wave community when he said “I don’t want to be a member of the big wave club, I want to be the chairman of the board.” He stepped into that realm by being one of the first to take on Kaena Point. Then in 1985 he was dropped into the lineup at maxing Pipeline by helicopter, pioneering the wave of surfers taking on Oahu’s “Outer Reefs.” A year later he was an invitee to the 1986 Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau.
