Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- University of Utah student Tiare Couto died in a New Year's Day accident.
- The accident occurred at an illegal party in Pūpūkea-Paumalū State Park Reserve, Hawaii.
- Couto was passionate about environmental issues and was the daughter of surfer Danilo Couto.
SALT LAKE CITY — Nineteen-year-old University of Utah student Tiare Couto, from Oahu, Hawaii, died in an accident on New Year's Day, according to Honolulu police.
Couto was attending a New Year's Eve party in the Pūpūkea-Paumalū State Park Reserve — a state forest on the North Shore — when she fell on a muddy trail early on Jan. 1.
According to the incident report from the Honolulu Police Department, about 12:30 a.m. on Jan. 1, a group of young women hiked back from the party and told an officer in the parking lot of Sunset Beach Elementary School that they couldn't find one of their friends, who was supposed to drive them home.
Around 200 people exited the trail from the party over the next three hours, but Couto wasn't among them. At 4 a.m., her friends told the officer that she still hadn't been found, the report stated. At some point, the father of one of the young women said that Couto had fallen and couldn't get up.
The police found Couto during a search of the area and contacted the Honolulu Fire Department to help get her out. The local Emergency Medical Services transported her to the hospital, where she died, according to police.
The Honolulu Civil Beat reported that the party was an unofficial, illegal annual event that was usually organized over social media. The Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement and the Division of State Parks are investigating the event.
Couto was a sophomore at the University of Utah, pursuing a double major in environmental and sustainability studies and political science. In a Q&A on the university's website, she said she was passionate about environmental racism and eventually wanted to study law in order to advocate for equitable economic policies.
She explained that the biggest impact she hoped to have on the world was to "exemplify to those of ALL backgrounds that there are things they may not realize are reliant on the well-being and health of our planet and require our efforts to protect."
"I love caring about the planet, and I want to earn the skills I need to find common ground with people who have different viewpoints than me. I am interested in working on environmental change at a policy level," she continued.
During the interview, Couto explained that she was raised surfing and chose to come to the University of Utah because of her family's love of skiing.
Couto was the daughter of Brazilian pro surfer Danilo Couto. On Sunday, Jan. 5, he posted a tribute to his daughter on Instagram:
"My daughter, rest in peace and tranquility, your mission was accomplished with excellence, you taught true love wherever you went, continue loving, teaching and with your contagious energy live your new divine journey. I will love you forever," he wrote.
