NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Kauai police look for missing tourist

Kauai police need the public's help to find a tourist missing since last March.

Jesse Pinegar, 23, of Utah came to Hawaii for a vacation in January 2008, hiked into Kalalau Valley and set up a campsite about five miles from the trail head, according to a Kauai county news release.

Pinegar remained in touch with his family in Utah but has not called them since March 24.

He is 6 feet 1 inch tall with a medium build and weighs about 185 pounds. He has a light complexion with brown hair and eyes.

Pinegar has a tattoo of a Celtic tree of life on his right shoulder and a Celtic bear on his left abdomen.

Anyone with information is asked to call Kauai police at 241-1711, Kauai investigative services at 241-1696 or CrimeStoppers at 241-1887.

Crash critically injures woman

A 89-year-old Kahului woman was in critical condition yesterday after a two-vehicle collision in Maui, a police official said.

At about 8:30 a.m. a Hyundai car and a Ford Explorer crashed at the intersection of Kamehameha and Hina avenues in Kahului, said traffic division Lt. Robert Hill.

The Explorer ended up on its side, and the 89-year-old passenger was partially ejected. The driver of the Explorer, a 55-year-old Kula woman, had minor injuries. The driver of the Hyundai, who was alone, was not hurt.

Rescue personnel took the older woman to Maui Memorial Medical Center.

Prosecution might be involved in the accident, and further details could not be released, Hill said.

Stolen jewelry left at pawnshop

Kauai police arrested a 25-year-old Lihue man who allegedly stole jewelry from a car and left it at a pawnshop because the pawnshop owner refused to buy it.

Brandon Mariano-Hardy was charged with second-degree theft and breaking into a car, a Kauai County news release said yesterday.

On Monday, Mariano-Hardy entered a parked vehicle on Rice Street and took a handbag containing jewelry and some cash, the release said.

When he tried to pawn the jewelry at a Lihue store, the shop owner declined to buy it because it was stolen and called the police.

Police booked Mariano-Hardy at his home Wednesday night.

LEEWARD OAHU

Man's punch lands friend in hospital

A 30-year-old man was hospitalized and nearly died Thursday after a friend punched him in the head, police said.

At about 7 p.m. the two men were drinking at a friend's home in Waipahu when the 32-year-old suspect became irritated and hit the victim on the right side of the head. The victim passed out and could not be revived.

Friends drove the younger man to the hospital where he was found to be in critical condition.

Police booked his alleged attacker that night at his Nanakuli home on suspicion of attempted second-degree murder.

HONOLULU

Bus rider allegedly punches driver

Police arrested a 48-year-old Kaneohe man who allegedly punched a city bus driver in Kaimuki.

At about 12:10 a.m. yesterday the bus driver asked the man to get off the bus because he was being disorderly. As he was disembarking, the man allegedly hit the driver, police said. Another passenger pulled the man off the bus at the corner of Waialae and Koko Head avenues.

The man was booked on suspicion of interfering with the operation of a public transportation vehicle.

WAIKIKI

Man purportedly makes knife threat

A 49-year-old homeless man was booked on suspicion of first-degree terroristic threatening Thursday after allegedly threatening a stranger with a knife in Waikiki.

Police said the suspect threatened to stab a 36-year-old man who asked him to leave his apartment property at about 11:50 p.m.

The suspect was found a couple of blocks away on Kalakaua Avenue.