Most people think Hawaii is safe

But, it's like everywhere else. You have to be aware of what to watch out for like things in that environment you might not be familiar with when you get there. The weather is likely different than where you live too if you are a tourist there.

For example, I was on Maui north of Lahaina staying at a resort and our set of rooms was right over looking the cove and beach there. There were many people from the East coast where waves and surf don't get that big and about 10 people got pulled out in a rip tide out to sea. And then the local people swam out to save them before they were all taken out to sea and drowned on their boogey boards or inflatable rafts. Things like this can happen in Hawaii if you aren't familiar with the beaches and water currents that day. I watched the locals rescue all these people and then surf the 10 foot waves and have a blast the rest of the afternoon. But, if you aren't familiar with oceans the way they behave in Hawaii all this can be life threatening if you aren't familiar with all this.

My son was swimming at one point at a beach and I saw he was in trouble and asked his then 16 year old sister to go out on a boogey board and rescue him but she wasn't prepared yet to do that. Luckily, a surfer pulled him up partly onto his board so my son, (then around 30 didn't drown). He wasn't familiar enough with the currents and rip tides at that beach and didn't realize he didn't have the endurance he had had in his teens and early 20s in this type of situation anymore.

The lady that got lost in Makawao Forest Reserve isn't unusual either because it is just so beautiful there (especially in rain forests or at the beach) that you often get distracted by the beauty of almost a heaven realm and forget you are still on earth. The temperature often is perfect and you are amazed by everything around you. So, it is hard almost to believe you are alive there because it is so otherworldly. This is when people can get into trouble if they are in one of the more remote places like out in the water or in a rain forest alone.

If you don't have backup in the water or in a rain forest it isn't a good idea, even in Hawaii. In other words you don't really want to be alone in the water or in rain forests in Hawaii because all sorts of things can happen. So, backup really is important in case you get too dreamy from this new experience when you are a tourist. So, there should always be a buddy system in place so people don't wind up injured or dead, even in Hawaii.