COURTESY OF KITV4 NEWS Kenneth Peters Jr., 31, was taken to the main police station yesterday after being found returning from a Bangkok trip.

Missing man shows
up after trip

Police question him on his
disappearance from his car
Tuesday

The Salt Lake man who was reported missing after his abandoned Mercedes-Benz was found Tuesday at Makapuu and who is the subject of a white-collar crime investigation returned to Oahu yesterday after taking a trip to Thailand.

Kenneth Peters Jr., 31, arrived on Japan Airlines Flight 8080 from Narita -- a connecting flight from a trip that originated in Bangkok -- yesterday morning and was stopped by U.S. Customs officials for having a large sum of undeclared cash, according to sources.

When Customs officials realized he was a missing person, they contacted Honolulu police, who escorted Peters back to the main police station at 801 S. Beretania St. for questioning.

Peters was not arrested, police said.

"He was basically brought in to be interviewed about his disappearance," said missing-persons investigator Phil Camero. "He came here on his own accord, and he left with his family.

"I'm not going to elaborate what was said because the investigation is still ongoing. ... We do know that he is safe, and that is the most important thing."

Police said Peters is under no travel restrictions and is free to leave the state.

Friends and family reported Peters missing Tuesday morning after a passing motorist saw his 2005 Mercedes-Benz 70 feet below in the brush along the cliffs of Makapuu. Peters was last seen about 7:30 p.m. Monday leaving work in Halawa.

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Honolulu police Capt. Frank Fujii, left, and missing-persons investigator Phil Camero talked about Kenneth Peters Jr. yesterday at a news conference.

Peters' cell phone was still in the car, keys in the ignition, and a police bloodhound found his shoes in the hills above Kalanianaole Highway across from Makapuu Lookout.

After media reports on Peters' disappearance, sources revealed he was under criminal investigation by Honolulu police for allegedly forging several checks and stealing more than $100,000 from Flight School Hawaii, where he was had previously been a student and then employed to do accounting work.

Sources close to the investigation said Peters' case was being prepared by the city Prosecutor's Office to go before a state grand jury when he disappeared.

At a news conference yesterday, however, police would not acknowledge the theft investigation.

"Being missing is not a crime," said Honolulu police spokesman Capt. Frank Fujii. "We're not going to discuss anything in regards to any possible criminal investigations at this point."

According to the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center, Peters has a previous conviction for second-degree theft stemming from a 1993 case involving Liberty House. In 1994 he was sentenced to six months' confinement, 200 hours of community service and five years' probation.

Flight School Hawaii officials confirmed that Peters has a private pilot's license.

He is also in remission from cancer, according to his family and friends.

Peters is originally from the Big Island, and family members from Laupahoehoe arrived yesterday and were seen with Peters leaving the police station.