LEILA FUJIMORI / LFUJIMORI@STARBULLETIN.COM
The family of a missing man, Yorck Kenneth Woita, whose vehicle was found on fire in Waimanalo, spoke with police yesterday after appealing for the public's help in finding him.
Parents plead for
help finding sonThe Kaneohe man's family
talks of the pain of not knowing
where the 28-year-old man is
The family of a missing 28-year-old Kaneohe man made a tearful plea before TV cameras and reporters yesterday asking for the public's help in finding him.
"If anybody knows anything, even if it's the slightest, that they saw him with the car or anybody, be compassionate and have mercy and please call," said Beverly Lum, the mother of Yorck Kenneth Woita, who has not been seen since Friday.
COURTESY PHOTO
Yorck Woita: The missing Kaneohe man is described as very close to his family
"This waiting and not knowing is the worst thing that anybody can ever go through," Lum said at a press conference at the Honolulu Police Department's main station.
Police said Woita was last seen having an argument with another man at about 5:15 p.m. Friday while driving his stepbrother's yellow sport utility vehicle near the Kailua Shopping Center on Kailua Road.
"We are highly suspicious of his disappearance," said Detective Phil Camero, of the Missing Persons Detail.
The yellow 2000 Nissan X-Terra, license plate JBJ-067, was found on fire near 41-679 Mokulama St. in Waimanalo. The vehicle was badly burned, and police would not say if any evidence was found in it.
Lt. Bill Kato said the case was classified as a missing-person investigation because of the suspicious events surrounding the disappearance. He noted the report of an argument, the burned-out SUV and that Woita has not contacted family or friends since Friday.
Woita had rented a Waikiki hotel for the weekend with some friends. When he failed to return Friday night, his friends and family became concerned and reported him missing.
Lum, with whom he lives, said: "His friends are just as upset. They're combing the area."
Woita is 6 feet 2 inches tall, 160 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes. He was last seen wearing a blue short-sleeved shirt, bluejeans, a pair of white Converse tennis shoes, a 20-inch gold chain and a Tag Heuer wristwatch.
In a telephone interview earlier yesterday, Woita's father, Yorck G. Woita Sr., said: "It's very rough. I just want my son back."
Woita's parents have made fliers to post in downtown Honolulu and Kailua.
"Knowing nothing drives you up the wall. It drives you crazy," said Woita Sr., choking up in tears.
His son, a 1993 Castle High School graduate, worked as a carpenter. The German-born 28-year-old has lived in Hawaii since age 3. He recently returned from a trip to Germany where he visited relatives. He was enrolled in German- language and business classes at Hawaii Pacific University.
Lum described her son as a local boy who enjoys fishing and is respectful and nice. "He didn't drink. He didn't go out to clubs or stuff like that. He was just a regular guy," she said.
Lum said it was not like her son to not tell her of his whereabouts. "We're a very close family and he tells us everything," Lum said.
His sister Tracy Woita sobbed as she said her brother was "always there to help everybody." She pleaded to her brother, "If you see this, please come back because it's very hard for us."
Police ask anyone with information on Woita's whereabouts to contact HPD's Missing Persons Detail at 529-3394 or Honolulu CrimeStoppers at 955-8300.
Star-Bulletin reporter Rosemarie Bernardo contributed to this report.
Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
