Child kidnapping by strangers is rare in Hawaii, as it is across the country. Police say kidnapping by
strangers rare in HawaiiPolice seek missing man and his 2 sons
By Leila Fujimori
lfujimori@starbulletin.comThe number of child abductions in Hawaii in the past eight years that are not custodial cases can be counted on one hand. Nationally, experts say, relatives of the child carry out most abductions.
"We have had very, very few child abduction cases," said Honolulu Police Detective Letha DeCaires, coordinator of the Honolulu CrimeStoppers program. Most reports turn out to be false allegations, she said.
Of the 540 child kidnapping cases reported statewide to Missing Child Center Hawaii since 1994, 4 were stranger abductions, said Renette Parker, assistant coordinator of the center, an agency under the Department of the Attorney General that coordinates investigations.
There have been high-profile abductions of girls on the mainland. Five-year-old Samantha Runnion was seized Monday outside her Stanton, Calif., apartment, sexually assaulted and killed.
In the majority of custodial cases, the noncustodial parent or a relative is the culprit.
"In most of the cases, we know who has the children," Parker said.
The most recent case of a noncustodial abduction in Hawaii involved an 8-year-old Kalihi girl who was taken from her parents' bedroom at 2 a.m. May 17 by a man who burglarized her home, police said. The man sexually assaulted the child but she later escaped and ran home, police said. The suspect has not been caught.
Another unsolved case is that of Peter "Peter Boy" Kema of Hilo, whose father told police in August 1997 that he gave his 6-year-old son to a woman named Auntie Rose Makuakane in Honolulu's Aala Park. Her existence is unconfirmed.
Police are still baffled by the case of Jie Zhao Li, a Honolulu girl missing since Feb. 11, 1988.
Detective Phil Camero of HPD's Missing Persons Division recalled the case of 6-year-old Maile Gilbert, who was kidnapped from a party in Kailua on Aug. 6, 1985 and murdered. A family acquaintance was convicted of the crime.
Although kidnapping is rare, parents still need to be vigilant to protect their children and teach them how to avoid dangerous situations, Parker said.
BACK TO TOP
|
The Honolulu Police Department and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service are requesting the public's help in locating Victorio Santiago and his two sons, who disappeared a week ago. Police seek missing man
and his 2 sonsStar-Bulletin staff
Santiago was last seen leaving his Pearl Harbor home with 11-year-old Noel and 7-year-old Daniel last Friday sometime before 1 a.m.
Police and the Navy declined to release any information on the events that took place before Santiago left his home with the children.
Santiago, 37, is an enlisted service member in the Navy and is originally from the Philippines. He is described as 5-feet-8, 150 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. His son Noel is described as 4-feet-6, 83 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Noel's younger brother, Daniel, is described as 4-feet-3, 65 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.
Santiago was operating a rental car at the time he and his two children left Pearl Harbor, authorities said. The vehicle is described as a light-green four-door 2000 Daewoo Leganza with the license number JGS-405.
Anyone with information on the missing family members is asked to call Honolulu police at 529-3115 or CrimeStoppers at 955-8300, or e-mail the Missing Persons Detail at mpoahu@hgea.org.
