Search for answers continues in deaths of 2 divers on Oahu

Two free divers were spearfishing at a popular diving spot on Oahu’s North Shore for the first time with a group of work friends early Sunday morning when they went missing for hours and were later found unresponsive.

Brothers-in-law and co- workers Raymond Tudela, 32, and Rupert Babauta, 28, were both experienced divers and spear fishermen but usually went diving and fishing in Kaneohe, near where they lived with their families, said Tudela’s wife, Mercylyn Tudela.

“They were more willing to (go to Velzyland Beach) because they had people with them,” Tudela, who is also Babauta’s sister, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. The choice to go to Velzyland was “the other gentlemen’s choice,” she said.

The friends had already been missing for several hours when the Honolulu Fire Department received a 911 call at about 3:40 a.m. Sunday. HFD reported seeing a still-submerged dive light about 150 feet from shore and dived underwater to retrieve one unresponsive diver whose dive light was attached to him. He was brought to shore and transferred to Honolulu Emergency Medical Services at 4:42 a.m.

HFD used Air 1 helicopter to provide aerial support and dropped rescuers with scuba-diving equipment to search underwater for the second diver. He was later found unresponsive and brought to shore where he was transferred to EMS at 6:49 a.m.

It’s currently unclear who was found first, but they were both pronounced dead at the scene, EMS officials said.

The Honolulu Medical Examiner’s office Monday did not have a preliminary cause of death for either man.

Tudela described both men as “gentle, respectful human beings and very empathetic.”

Both born in Saipan, the men grew up net fishing together and attended Saipan Southern High School.

Raymond Tudela was nicknamed “Jun” by family and friends because his full name was Raymond Jr., after his father, Tudela said.

“We all went to the same high school, knew the same people and everything,” Tudela said. “It’s a very small island.”

Their families moved to Hawaii in 2013 to get a start in a new location together, and this is where the men began spearfishing. In 2014, Raymond and Mercylyn Tudela moved to Seattle to live with his parents for eight years before returning to Hawaii in 2022, Tudela said.

“They’re islanders, you know, born and raised,” she said. “And although they were born in Saipan, they found Hawaii their home.”

Both men worked at Windward Hyundai, but Tudela said Babauta wanted to become a police officer. She said she never got the chance to ask him why.

The Tudela and Babauta families are extremely tightknit — they live about a four-minute walk from each other, she said.

She described her younger brother as “goofy, but very smart and motivated,” and “dedicated to everything he did.”

They were raised with five other siblings, and even though she was a year older than Babauta, she said he was always protective of her.

“We always had each other,” she said. “I know that I’m the one that’s supposed to protect him, but he protected me my whole life.”

Babauta is also husband and father of four children: two boys ages 7 and 2, and two girls ages 5 and 1.

“He loved taking his kids to the beach; he loved it,” she said. “It doesn’t even matter like if he’s tired, he’d take him still and spend all day — literally all day — at the beach with his kids.”

She and Raymond Tudela were high school sweethearts who were together for 14 years and recently celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary. They have two children, Jake, 7, and Isaac, 9, who turns 10 in nine days.

Besides the ocean, her husband loved to film videos of nature and seeing his sons playing in the water.

On the Saturday he left to go fishing, she said, he had been teaching their boys how to swim.

“That day specifically, (her husband and her sons) were in the water for a while in the pool, and when I came home he told me that they were getting a lot better, better with the swimming, and was so proud of them,” she said.

He also loved to customize cars, she said.

“I know he liked the noise. He liked to make sure the motor had some type of noise — not too loud, but you know,” she said. “And he liked those speakers — I don’t even know what — I just know it was always loud in the car.”

The only thing that is bringing her some sort of peace is knowing that they died doing what they loved, with someone they loved.

“Knowing that they would have never left each other, that they never would have left anyone behind, and they didn’t,” she said.

As experienced free divers, she said they always used caution before entering the water.

“They did so much research before going in, you know,” she said. “They got the proper gear and everything ready. When one person didn’t have something or something broke, they never went in the water. … They knew their limits.”

Funeral arrangements are pending, and the families have yet to decide on a date for services. A GoFundMe page has raised $6,345 for the men’s wives and children.

Mercylyn Tudela said she wants people to know that on Saturday night when they left the house, they were “really happy” and “excited.”

“They both loved the water. They both loved fishing,” she said. “They found this beautiful connection and created a bond with each other, and they always had each other’s back, especially in the water.”

SAFETY TIPS FOR FREE DIVERS

>> Always dive with a buddy, one up, one down all the time, and do not separate from each other.

>> Be aware of the ocean’s conditions, tides and wind.

>> Establish a rally point for loved ones outside of the water to know how long divers will be in the water. Predesignate a time to call or text a friend or family member when out of the water to let them know you are safe.

Source: Michael Jutt, Ocean Safety officer on North Shore for 10 years and Free-diving Instructors International certified instructor