Woman drowns only weeks after fulfilling dream move to Hawaii. ‘How happy she looked’
Bystanders on the coast of Big Island, Hawaii, pulled a woman out of the water after spotting her floating face-down, authorities say.
According to a July 24 news release from the Hawaii Police Department, it was around 6 p.m. on July 21 when good Samaritans performed CPR on the woman while waiting for medics to arrive. Soon, a medical team transported the woman to a hospital in Kona where it was quickly decided that the woman should be airlifted to The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu.
The woman died the following morning, police said.
The woman was identified as Jennifer Kathleen Purcell., a 54-year-old who only a few weeks before had fulfilled her longtime dream of moving to Hawaii, according to social media posts from friends and family.
Purcell was from New Mexico and was adopted as a child alongside her sister Lisa Kimbrell and other siblings. According to a post by Kimbrell, the sisters were so close, they liked to joke that they were twins.
“Sending love to the best sister in the entire world,” Kimbrell wrote in a Facebook post next to photos of the duo beaming together. The pictures were taken by Kimbrell’s husband when her family had gone out to help Purcell get settled in her new home, only days before the incident.
Purcell was beloved by many friends as well as her family, who described her as “such a kind human.”
She had an army of people watching her journey to the island. The mother of two boys – Aaron and Logan – Purcell posted photos since arriving, shots that her friends noted looked very joyful.
“I remarked on her post a couple of days ago how happy she looked,” Kathi Jourdan Briones wrote under a post from another friend of Purcell’s. “I’m glad she experienced happiness on the island even though it was way too short.”
“See you in heaven, sister,” Kimbrell wrote. “So proud of all the things you accomplished in your life. We love and miss you dearly!”
This story was originally published July 26, 2024 at 10:20 AM with the headline "Woman drowns only weeks after fulfilling dream move to Hawaii. ‘How happy she looked’."