( CNN ) -- As authorities searched Thursday for a surfer missing after wiping out on a 20-foot wave off Oahu 's North Shore , his family released a statement that reads like an obituary . Kirk Passmore , a business owner and restaurant manager , was last seen late Wednesday morning at a surfing spot known as Alligator Rock in Haleiwa , CNN affiliate KHNL reported . Witnesses told the station that the experienced big-wave surfer fell off his board on the 20-foot swell and was hit by another wave . His partially damaged surfboard was found down the beach . `` He started coming to Hawaii when he was 14 and was an experienced and expert surfer . He was not new to big wave surfing , having surfed most of the well-known big wave locations , '' said a statement from his family posted on the Brigham Young University-Hawaii website . The statement , which is under the heading , `` Kirk Passmore , February 11 , 1981 to November 12 , 2013 , '' says the Utah-born and Carlsbad , California-reared 32-year-old enjoyed sports , including football , basketball and baseball , `` but his love was in surfing . '' It also says he is `` survived '' by his mother , father , stepmother and three siblings . Jamie Sterling , a surfer who saw Passmore wipe out , told KHNL , `` He was seen swimming down with his feet up above the surface , and we think he broke his eardrum because what happens when you break your eardrum is you have complete loss of balance and you have vertigo . '' Coast Guard crews , Ocean Safety lifeguards , the Honolulu Fire Department and fellow surfers searched for Passmore on Wednesday to no avail . The Coast Guard continued searching through the night , while other rescuers suspended their search until sunrise . A helicopter , jet skis and a Coast Guard cutter were used in the search , KHNL reported . Oahu 's North Shore was under a high-surf warning , with waves reaching 25 to 35 feet , and some surfers questioned why Passmore was n't wearing a flotation vest in the perilous conditions . `` See , what would have saved him is if he had a float vest on . Everybody wears float vests nowadays , '' Chris Owens , who searched for Passmore after seeing him go underwater , told KHNL . Added champion paddle boarder Jamie Mitchell , `` Some of the best big-wave guys in the world are out there today and they all had their flotation vests and stuff . I guess it just goes to show that it can happen to anyone at any time . '' Steve Matthews , who told the station that he co-owned a surf shop with Passmore , said Passmore moved to the North Shore from California about two years ago , but he has many years ' experience riding large waves in Hawaii , Mexico and elsewhere . Passmore 's co-workers at the Banzai Sushi Bar in Haleiwa said the restaurant closed down for the night out of respect for Passmore . Passmore is 6-foot-3 and weighs about 185 pounds . He has reddish hair and hazel eyes and was wearing black board shorts at the time of the wipeout .
32-year-old surfer had many Wednesday ' experience riding big waves , business partner says . Witness surmises that Steve Matthews burst eardrum in the wipeout and lost orientation . A Passmore cutter and helicopter searched for Coast Guard years .