Maine camp community mourns New Zealand man killed in volcano eruption
Hayden Marshall-Inman was identified as one of the victims in the eruption.
A New Zealand man, who was killed in the deadly volcano eruption on Monday, is being mourned by a camp community in Maine where he worked for more than a decade. Hayden Marshall-Inman was identified by authorities Wednesday as one of those missing, presumed dead, after the eruption on White Island. He was a guide for White Island Tours and was leading a group on a seven-hour trip from a cruise ship to the volcano, a popular tourist destination about 30 miles offshore from mainland New Zealand, at the time of the eruption. There were 47 tourists on the island at the time of the eruption, and authorities believe at least 14 people were killed. About 30 people remain hospitalized, with 25 in critical condition.Marshall-Inman’s brother, Mark Inman, shared news of his sibling’s passing earlier this week, saying the tour guide was “doing the one thing he loved.”
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“My brother, he’s a genuine, good kiwi guy,” Inman told Australia’s Ten Network television. “He’s got a love for life, he lives in the moment of time and he’ll do anything for anyone.”
On Tuesday, the YMCA Camp of Maine posted a message mourning Marshall-Inman’s death.
“Hayden Marshall-Inman was a large part of the YMCA Camp of Maine community for over a decade,” the camp wrote. “He could be found on the waterfront, at the Sports Field, and anywhere else there was fun to be had. We are celebrating the generous life he led and offering our support to his friends and family.”
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Barry Costa, who served as the director of the Maine YMCA until 2015, told the Portland Press Herald he first hired Marshall-Inman when the Kiwi was 18. Marshall-Inman started out as a camp counselor but through the years worked as a troop leader, waterfront director, director of programming, and ran the leader-in-training program.
“He was kind of like my son,” Costa told the newspaper. “We were very close to him. He was just a remarkable person.”
“Hayden always put other people first,” YMCA Camp of Maine CEO and Director Jeff Gleason told the Bangor Daily News. “When he was on the island, it’s my understanding he was helping other people to safety.”
Julia Gustafson, a friend, told the Press Herald that Marshall-Inman was known at the Maine camp for his fearlessness, going under the water for a “ridiculous amount of time” and resurfacing with a snapping turtle in hand.
“Hayden was like this big, goofy, 6-foot-3 gentle giant,” she told the Daily News.
On Facebook, Gustafson shared a fundraiser to help Marshall-Inman’s family travel to New Zealand and wrote that she was “heartbroken” by the loss of her friend.
“Hayden was truly a wonderful man who touched the lives of so many,” she wrote. “I will never forget him and the good times we had together.”
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Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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