Honolulu woman Jessie Kubo spends her days sitting by the phone waiting for any word about her husband, an Alzheimer's patient missing for more than three weeks.
longs for
husband’s return
Jessie Kubo has not seen
Masayuki, an Alzheimer's
patient, for more than 3 weeksBy Leila Fujimori
lfujimori@starbulletin.com"I get so sad all the time," she said. "When I talk about him ... I can't hold back my tears.
"Everybody's telling me to keep on hoping, otherwise his body would show up," Kubo said, crying.
"I don't know where he can be. I feel so sorry for him. He was getting worse. The doctor told me to put him in a home, but he won't go."
Masayuki Kubo, a retired Federal Aviation Administration engineer, has been missing since June 23, when he took an early morning walk and never came home. The Kubos live in a Kapiolani Boulevard condominium.
Yesterday afternoon, neighbors handed out fliers as they combed the Waikiki area for Kubo, the third such effort. Jessie Kubo suffers from arthritis and walks with a cane and was unable to join the search.
"I think the police department does not have the resources to go out and look for one person, so it should be a community effort," said neighbor June Spohn. "I think he'll turn up."
Friday, Jessie decided to offer a $1,000 reward to anyone with information that will help find her husband.
Neighbor Paul Roeder, who led the search, said he was going back to where Kubo was last seen on June 24: getting into a cab at the Ohana Maile Sky Court Hotel on Kuhio Avenue.
A hotel security guard said it may have been a Sida taxi and that the man asked to go to the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort (formerly known as the Hawaiian Regent), according to Roeder and Jessie Kubo.
Two months ago, Roeder, while out for a swim at Sans Souci Beach, found Masayuki looking tired and confused on the other side of the street and took him home. That was the second time he had wandered away.
"I think he's a smart, tough guy, and I think he's doing his best to try to figure this out," Roeder said.
The missing 80-year-old man has been under doctor's care for Alzheimer's since he first displayed symptoms in 1997. Without his monthly injection, he gets violent, said his wife, which is particularly worrisome for her.
His latest appointment was scheduled for last Monday.
"I had to cancel it because he still hasn't come home," Kubo said.
Jessie Kubo said she was still in bed on the morning of June 23. She heard her husband getting his socks.
She never got to speak with him that morning.
"When I came out, I had breakfast. I looked at the time and he's not home yet. It turned out he never showed up," she said, sobbing uncontrollably.
Jessie said walking was her husband's hobby, sometimes taking two or three walks a day. He usually went to Kakaako Waterfront Park, where he liked to watch the fishermen, she said.
Kubo stands 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighs 165 pounds and has gray hair and brown eyes.
He last was seen wearing blue jeans, a white shirt and white tennis shoes. He had a bus pass, $10 in cash and a state ID card.
Police have contacted the bus company, reviewed unsubstantiated reports of possible sightings and notified homeless shelters and airport security. Investigators have also talked to homeless people at night.
"Because of his age, we're hoping he is with someone who can help care for him," said police investigator Phil Camero of the Missing Persons Detail. "If that's true, why the person has not called is a puzzle."
Camero said he knows of instances where seniors who have been missing for a substantial period of time have been found alive.
Anyone with information concerning Masayuki Kubo is urged to call the police Missing Persons Detail at 529-3394.