Rescue crews locate missing hikers Rescue crews locate missing hikers ADVERTISING Big Island rescue crews on Friday located a man and woman who apparently became lost while hiking Thursday in the Puu Makaula National Area Reserve in Volcano. The man
Rescue crews locate missing hikers
Big Island rescue crews on Friday located a man and woman who apparently became lost while hiking Thursday in the Puu Makaula National Area Reserve in Volcano.
The man and woman, both in their 50s, were located Friday morning after Hawaii Fire Department crews were able to make contact with them via cell phone. A Hawaii County helicopter located the missing hikers and directed rescue crews to them.
Rescue crews accompanied the hikers out of the area. They reported no injuries after spending the night under thick forest canopy near the 5,000-foot elevation, according to the department.
The hikers had been lost in an area heavily forested by ohia and hapuu ferns on a trail that leads toward Kulani Cone, according to the Hawaii Fire Department, which received the report of the missing hikers at 10:34 p.m. Thursday.
The hikers began their trek about 1 p.m. Thursday and at 6:30 p.m. contacted a friend via text message to report they were lost, however, the friend did not retrieve the message until sometime thereafter, according to the department. Rescue crews conducted a ground search but found no sign of the man and woman at the location of their last GPS coordinate. The search was suspended until first light Friday.
Magnitude-4.0 earthquake off Molokai
No tsunami was triggered by a magnitude-4.0 earthquake that struck early Friday in waters north of Molokai.
The earthquake hit at 12:04 a.m., according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. Its depth was registered at about 21 miles.
The temblor could be felt as far away as Aiea, Oahu, and Lahaina, Maui, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Military takes over Ore. woman’s murder probe
HONOLULU — A Marine is being held at a military detention facility in Pearl Harbor while authorities investigate the murder of a visitor from Oregon.
Marine Corps Forces Pacific said in a statement Friday it agreed with Honolulu prosecutors it would be “more advantageous” to prosecute the case in the military justice system.
Honolulu police arrested Master Sgt. Nathaniel Cosby earlier this month but Cosby was released without any charges filed.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service says it has taken the lead in the investigation.
Investigators are probing the death of Ivanice “Ivy” Harris, who was last seen outside a Waikiki bar on May 16. Her body was later found on Oahu’s leeward coast.
The Portland native was living in Las Vegas and vacationing in Hawaii with her boyfriend and friend.
Abercrombie signs bill for homebuyers program
HONOLULU — Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie on Friday signed a bill that broadens a homebuyers program throughout the state.
The governor signed the legislation updating the Hula Mae Single Family Mortgage Loan Program during a ceremony at the Hawaii Capitol.
The new law adds features to the program, including down payment assistance. It also broadens the program to new potential homeowners.
Abercrombie says the law stirred up reminders of when he bought his first home and saved for 23 years to build up a down payment.
“I had this kind of stunned look,” after closing on the home, Abercrombie said.
The program has been administered by the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp. since 1979. Since then, the program has issued bonds totaling $1.8 billion through June 2012 to give buyers mortgage loans below market interest rates. More than 10,000 families have used the program to help buy their first home, according to the text of the bill.
Abercrombie tied the bill signing to National Homeownership Month, declaring observation of a similar month in Hawaii.
The new law takes effect July 1.
According to the National Association of Realtors, the median home price for a single-family home in Honolulu during the first quarter this year was $625,800.
Military search team returns to Alaska wreck site
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Oahu — A team from a military command that searches for and identifies Americans missing from past conflicts is back in Alaska to assess a historical aircraft wreck site.
The team from the Hawaii-based Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command returned to Alaska on Wednesday.
An Alaska Army National Guard helicopter discovered what appeared to be an aircraft wreck site in the Knik Glacier area last June while conducting a routine training mission.
JPAC and Northern Warfare Training Center personnel collected possible material evidence and possible human remains from the glacier shortly afterward. JPAC hasn’t yet identified any of the remains.
The Alaska Command watched over the site to ensure its protection and keep an eye out for the surfacing of additional evidence. The commands launched a follow-up mission after the debris field resurfaced.
Police investigating Waipahu car chase, shooting
WAIPAHU, Oahu — Police are investigating an attempted murder in Waipahu involving a car chase that ended in a shooting.
Police say an argument led to a car chase Thursday night between occupants of two cars. The car being pursued crashed near a Waipahu gas station.
Shots were fired and one of the bullets grazed a 48-year-old man. Hawaii News Now reports he refused medical treatment.
A second bullet struck a vehicle. A third bullet went through the window of a nearby home.
By local and wire sources
