JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM
Honorio Manzano, husband of Anicia Manzano, continues to pray and hope every day for the return of his wife. Here he sits pensive at the Manzano residence in Kalihi yesterday. Anicia Manzano, 79, has been deemed missing since Thursday.
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Family not giving up hope
Missing 79-year-old woman last seen at Kalihi home
Family members of a 79-year-old Kalihi woman who was reported missing several days ago are clinging to hope that she will be found soon.
Police conducted a helicopter search in the Kalihi area yesterday.
"We keep praying that she is still alive," said Amador Manzano, youngest son of Anicia Manzano.
Manzano was last seen by her family members about 11:30 a.m. Thursday at her Kalihi home at 1707 Kamehameha IV Road. Family members say she has Alzheimer's disease.
Manzano's son said she went missing three times between October and December, but was always found within hours either by the police or a good Samaritan. In two of the three instances, Manzano, whose nickname is Aning, caught the bus but could not find her way back home.
Once, a couple found her at a gas station near Times Super Market in Waipahu. The following month, police found her at a bus terminal in Waipahu.
On Dec. 3, Manzano's son said he received a call from staff at the Queen's Medical Center after a good Samaritan dropped her off at the hospital.
This is the first time that she has been missing for more than a day.
Manzano's son said his mother started to become less mobile in September. Before her health worsened, she and husband of more than 55 years, Honorio, regularly caught the bus to attend Sunday mass together at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace on Bishop Street. She also used to catch the bus to Kamehameha Shopping Center to go grocery shopping.
Manzano's son said his mother continued to take daily walks in her neighborhood. She does not have her bus pass or identification card with her. Manzano's son also said she rarely speaks.
Since Thursday, family members have spent every night posting fliers, checking bus stops from Kalihi to Waikiki as well as shopping malls and parks. Relatives have also searched the Waipahu area without success.
Manzano's son said he believes his mother may not be alive, based on the length of time she has been missing. Still, he hopes police will be able to find her, saying it's more difficult not knowing where she is.
"We keep waiting, looking around, can't find her," he said. "We don't know what happened to her."
Manzano, mother of four, was last seen wearing a red-and-yellow print dress, a green sweater with a gecko graphic emblazoned on the front and slippers. She is of Filipino descent, 5-foot-2 and 90 pounds.
Anyone with information may call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300.