Newswatch
Police, Fire, Courts

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Army lab teams to study New Guinea crash sites

Two U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory search and recovery teams will leave Thursday for New Guinea on 45-day missions to investigate two aircraft crash sites for missing World War II aviators.

One of the 10-person teams will deploy to the mountainous jungles in the Lae region, where a B-24 aircraft from the 408th Bomb Squadron, 22nd Bomb Group, crashed in 1944. A Central Identification Laboratory investigative team visited the site in January and February and gathered enough evidence to believe that remains are present at the site.

The other 10-person team will deploy along the mountains of the Kokoda Pass, where a B-25 aircraft from the 405th Bomber Squadron, 38th Bomber Group, disappeared in 1942.

In 1995 and 2001, Central Identification Laboratory excavated the site, recovering possible crew remains and personal effects. Because of the inability to adequately drain the water in the crash site area, further recoveries had to be postponed until now.

Since 1978, 113 service members who were recovered in Papua, New Guinea, have been identified by the Army laboratory. Central Identification Laboratory analysts believe there are more than 250 American World War II aircraft crash sites still located in New Guinea. Additionally, there are still more than 78,000 American service members unaccounted for from World War II.

Since 1973 the Central Identification Laboratory has identified and returned to their families more than 1,030 American servicemen formerly listed as unaccounted for from previous wars.

Hanauma Bay reopens after box jellyfish leave

Hanauma Bay was reopened yesterday after being closed since Thursday because of an influx of box jellyfish.

"The jellyfish have departed," according to yesterday's recorded report by the city Ocean Safety Division.

Hanauma Bay is one of the areas commonly affected by the monthly influxes. Others are Pokai Bay, Makaha Surfing Beach, Ala Moana Beach Park and Waikiki Beach.

No other beaches were closed during the influx, but officials posted warning signs at Ala Moana and Waikiki.

Corrections and clarifications The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Managing Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at fbridgewater@starbulletin.com.

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Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Suitcase arrives on Kauai without proper screening

Kauai police were holding a suitcase that arrived at the Lihue Airport on Saturday afternoon after federal officials told them it had not been properly checked by baggage handlers.

Officer Dan Finney said he screened the bag for explosives as soon as the flight arrived from San Francisco at about 12:35 p.m. "The bag was received and checked, and at this point it doesn't look like there was anything suspicious about it," Finney said.

The Drug Enforcement Agency is pursuing a warrant to open the bag, a DEA agent in Honolulu said today.

A baggage handler in San Francisco allegedly asked another handler to put it on the plane.

Finney believed the second baggage handler did so, then discreetly informed his manager without alerting the man who had asked him to put it on the plane.

Officers sent the suitcase through the baggage carousel with the rest of the luggage to see who would claim it, but no one did, Finney said.

Finney said that he determined there were no explosives in the suitcase without opening it, then turned it over to vice officers.

Hilo man, 50, dies in motorcycle accident

A 50-year-old Hilo man died Saturday after he lost control of his 1997 Harley-Davidson and slid into a guardrail in the Laupahoehoe Gulch, police said.

Police said Randolph David Shin Sr. was riding with other motorcyclists from the Big Island Riders club heading toward Hilo on Hawaii Belt Road around 3:30 p.m. Shin lost control as he was approaching the bottom of the gulch, police said. He was not wearing a helmet, police said.

He was taken to Hilo Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 6:40 p.m.

Police said alcohol may have been a factor in the crash. This is the Big Island's eighth traffic fatality this year, compared with one at the same time last year.

Woman allegedly steals vehicle, breaks into home

Maui police charged a 22-year-old Makawao woman with first-degree burglary, second-degree theft, terroristic threatening, criminal property damage and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in connection with an incident on Saturday.

Police said the suspect stole a vehicle, entered a residence without permission and took money and jewelry. When the resident confronted the suspect, she allegedly brandished a garden tool and threatened to kill the resident, police said.

LEEWARD OAHU

Decapitated body of man found in truck at Kalaeloa

Firefighters responding to a reported car fire yesterday morning found the body of a decapitated man sitting in the driver's seat.

Fire Department spokesman Capt. Richard Soo said firefighters reported to a Kalaeloa camp site at 10:23 a.m. and saw that a late-model truck had climbed an embankment, and the smoke was created by its tires making contact with a tree branch. The engine was still running.

The firefighters found a rope with a bloodied end tied to a nearby tree, Soo said.

The case was turned over to police, who ruled the case an unattended death. Police had not identified the man last night.

2 men rob jewelry store in Waipahu Town Center

Police are looking for two men in their 30s who robbed a Waipahu Town Center business Saturday.

Police said one of the men entered the store about 3:50 p.m., grabbed a metal rod and broke a glass display case. As he was reaching into the case, he was confronted by a female salesclerk, police said.

Another suspect entered and told the first man to leave. When the second suspect left, he took a smaller display case that was sitting on the counter, police said. Another clerk chased both suspects out of the store, where the second suspect brandished a handgun, police said.

The men fled in a black 1990 Acura that had been reported stolen. It was located in the Village Park area, police said.

WINDWARD OAHU

4 adults rescued from capsized boat in Kaneohe

Fire rescue crews used a helicopter to pluck four adults out of the water in Kaneohe Bay after a wave capsized their boat.

The four adults were fishing about 100 yards off Kipapa Island near the sandbar when a wave crashed into the 16-foot boat, killing the engine, said acting Fire Capt. Peter Gonsalves of the Kaneohe Fire Station. A second wave capsized the boat, but a woman saved her cell phone before everything washed overboard and called 911, Gonsalves said.

The call for help came at 10:44 a.m. By 11:30 a woman and three men were flown to King Intermediate School, where they were released. There were no injuries.

HONOLULU

10-month-old's injuries prompt assault probe

Police opened a first-degree assault investigation after a 10-month-old girl was taken to Kapiolani Medical Center on Saturday with a skull fracture.

Police describe the injury as a depressed skull fracture. The girl was taken to the hospital from a King Street address at 10:45 p.m.

Police have not identified any suspects.

Woman arrested in theft of acquaintance's van

Police arrested a woman who allegedly stole her acquaintance's parents' Toyota van last week.

According to police, the parents reported that their car was stolen while their son gave the woman a ride. He stopped to pick something up, and when he returned to the van, the woman was driving away.

On Saturday a police officer driving on Kaheka Street noticed a white Toyota MPVH swerving in front of him and stopped the vehicle after seeing the woman make a right turn onto Rycroft Street. He learned the vehicle was stolen and arrested her, police said.

WAIKIKI

Police look for man who robbed Japanese visitor

Police are looking for a man in his 20s who allegedly robbed a Japanese tourist yesterday.

According to police, the woman was walking to her hotel on Paoakalani Avenue with her sister at about 4:25 a.m. when a man approached her from behind and pulled a small purse from her shoulder.

The suspect then fled in a waiting car, described as a gray 1990s model Honda or Accord.