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Newswatch
Star-Bulletin staff and wire service
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Weather halts Big Isle search
HILO » As bad weather, including fresh snow, pelted the higher elevations of Mauna Kea yesterday, the Hawaii County Fire Department called off the search for missing hiker Bryan Murphy, 67, of Plymouth, Mich.
Fire Chief Darryl Oliveira said that when the snow melts, helicopter flights will be sent up periodically to hunt for Murphy. Yesterday was the sixth day of the search since the visitor started up a four-mile trail from about 9,300 feet, intending to hike to Lake Waiau at 13,020 feet.
Murphy was last seen Dec. 5 wearing a light jacket and short pants.
Conditions in the search area yesterday were "cold, cold, cold," said fire Capt. James Kuniyoshi. Snow was falling from the summit to below the 12,000-foot level, Oliveira said.
Police seek missing woman
The Kauai police are seeking information on the whereabouts of Koloa resident Susan Scanlan, who has been missing for more than a year.
Scanlan, 55, was last seen leaving her home on Hoonani Road in Koloa on Nov. 5, 2006, at approximately 11 a.m., police said. She is 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighs 140 pounds, and has green eyes and brown hair.
During the past 15 years, Scanlan has traveled frequently between Kauai and California. She enjoys bodyboarding and swimming, especially at Prince Kuhio Park in Poipu, officials said.
Anyone with information about Scanlan is asked to call Detective Todd Tanaka, 241-1694, police dispatch, 241-1711, or CrimeStoppers, 241-1887.
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Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff
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NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Police arrest man after boy is hurt
HILO » Big Island police have charged Patrick Luk, 27, with first-degree assault and other offenses for allegedly throwing rocks at cars Sunday night, resulting in a 3-year-old boy being hit in the face and suffering a brain injury, they said.
The boy was flown to the Queen's Medical Center, where he is listed in stable condition.
Police said they don't know why Luk was throwing baseball-sized rocks at cars at the corner of Kilauea Avenue and Puainako Street early Sunday evening.
Eight drivers reported that their car body or window was struck by a rock while they drove on Puainako.
In the case of the injured child, a rock shattered a side window before hitting the boy, police said. People in other cars were not injured.
Police responding to the scene found Luk continuing to throw rocks, they said. He was charged with resisting arrest when they tried to subdue him. He was also charged with 17 counts of first-degree criminal property damage.
Luk is being held in lieu of $85,500 bail.
Witnesses said other cars hit by rocks left the scene. Anyone who witnessed the incident or was a victim but has not talked to police is asked to call the department at 961-2386.
Kauai man injured in one-car crash
A Kauai man was airlifted to the Queen's Medical Center after sustaining serious injuries in a one-car crash early yesterday morning.
According to police, James Wilson, 25, of Kapaa was heading northbound on Kuhio Highway in the vicinity of the Wailua Golf Course at about 3:15 a.m. He apparently lost control of the Dodge sedan he was driving, slid onto the shoulder and struck a utility pole just north of mile marker four.
Wilson, the only occupant of the vehicle, was taken to Wilcox Hospital and then transferred to Queen's for further treatment.
Alcohol and excessive speed were likely contributing factors in the crash, police said.
Coast Guard takes fisherman ashore
A 43-year-old fisherman was airlifted off his vessel after his pinkie finger was nearly cut off.
About 8 a.m. yesterday morning, a Coast Guard helicopter was sent to the Honolulu-based fishing vessel Lady Alice about 130 miles southeast of the Big Island.
After airlifting the fisherman, the helicopter flew to Kahului, where he was transferred back to Honolulu for medical attention. A Coast Guard news release stated the fisherman suffered from a nearly severed pinkie finger.
[ Courts ]
Former resident indicted in fraud
A former Hawaii woman allegedly filed for medical benefits from two consecutive employers and obtained more than $635,000 in medical services for a man she falsely claimed to be her husband.
An Oahu grand jury indicted Patricia L. Hallmark, 49, yesterday on two counts of first-degree theft, and one count each of second-degree theft and second-degree forgery in an alleged scheme that began when she was first hired by the Research Corp. of the University of Hawaii in July 2001.
During the intake process, Hallmark allegedly claimed on Hawaii Medical Service Association enrollment forms that a Robert Patrick was her husband.
She allegedly did the same when she left UH in 2005 and went to work for Turtle Bay Resort on Oahu's North Shore. The alleged fraud was discovered in 2006 and she was fired.
An investigation by HMSA revealed that while employed for four years at UH, Patrick received more than $500,000 worth of medical treatment and services. He also obtained more than $125,000 in services and treatment while Hallmark worked for Turtle Bay.
Had HMSA known, they would not have paid for Patrick because he wasn't entitled to benefits, said Deputy Prosecutor Chris Van Marter.
Hallmark has no prior criminal history, but Van Marter successfully argued for $50,000 bail because of the substantial loss to HMSA.
Hallmark has since fled Hawaii. Prosecutors said they intend to extradite her.
Man pleads guilty to $300,000 theft
A man who broke into a Kakaako warehouse the day after last Christmas and made off with more than $300,000 in Prada items has pleaded guilty.
Tracy Coryell Sr., 41, entered his pleas to first-degree theft and second-degree burglary before Circuit Judge Steve Alm on Monday.
He faces mandatory minimum terms ranging from three to six years as a persistent offender when he is sentenced June 8.
Coryell was on probation for a 2005 auto theft when he and three others broke into the warehouse. He claimed to have driven the getaway car and acted as a lookout while he and the others loaded and transported the merchandise. Each took a share of the stolen goods.
Coryell was arrested at Oahu Community Correctional Center nearly a month later while in custody on an unrelated charge. A woman arrested for driving a stolen car had identified Coryell as giving her the stolen car and Prada merchandise. Police found Prada items in the woman's bedroom at a Halawa Heights home.