A 52-year-old man was in police custody and a 15-year-old Kailua-Kona girl safe Saturday evening following an alleged abduction Friday afternoon in South Kohala that triggered Hawaii Island’s first-ever AMBER Alert.
Duncan Kealoha Mahi was taken into custody by Hawaii Police Department officers shortly before 4 p.m. Saturday in Hilo, Hawaii Police Department Area II Criminal Investigation Section Capt. Thomas Shopay told West Hawaii Today.
The arrest came about 90 minutes after police issued an emergency alert to residents asking for help finding the man and about four hours after Mikella Debina escaped her captor when he went inside a Hilo eatery. Mahi is accused of kidnapping Mikella Debina from Anaehoomalu Bay around 1:30 p.m. Friday.
“I want to thank all of her friends, family and strangers who came out to look for her,” said Mikella Debina’s mother, Char Debina just moments after police confirmed her daughter was safe and in good health in Hilo.
According to police and Char Debina, Mikella Debina and her boyfriend, also age 15, were at Anaehoomalu Bay when a “local” man in his 40s to 60s approached the young couple, forced the girl to tie up her boyfriend and then took her at knifepoint.
Initially, police issued an emergency alert asking for help locating the girl but hours later issued Hawaii County’s first-ever AMBER Alert informing the community via emergency broadcast of the abduction and the teen being in danger.
An AMBER alert is issued to help galvanize the community in locating a child believed to be in danger. AMBER stands for America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response and began in 1996 when police and broadcasters teamed up to locate a missing 9-year-old girl, who tragically was found murdered. Between the system’s inception and May 1, 1,114 children have been recovered thanks to AMBER Alerts in the U.S.
“Our first priority is getting her back to her family,” Shopay said Saturday as local, state and federal law enforcement officials conducted the search at the bay.
The alert was received about 7:12 p.m. Friday across the state via various platforms, including television, cell phone and radio asking for help locating Mikella Debina.
An already hot social media and coconut wireless took off, with family, friends and even strangers working to help find the 15-year-old Kealakehe High School student. Though many were trying to be helpful, the family noted some of the speculation and rumors were hurtful.
“We need to let law enforcement do their job and stop all of the negative speculation,” said family spokesperson Laureen Debina.
Searches, which began shortly after the girl was abducted, grew Saturday morning with dozens of residents turning out to look for the girl.
“The community has really come together and community is everything,” said Laureen Debina, who was at Anaehoomalu Bay Saturday.
Meanwhile, numerous government agencies worked the search from land and air utilizing assets from the Hawaii Police Department, Hawaii Fire Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation and more. Even private businesses assisted, including two Hawaii Island helicopter companies, Blue Hawaiian and Paradise Helicopters, who put aircraft in the sky to help.
While the search continued, Char Debina received the news a family can only pray for in this type of situation: Her daughter was alive, and safe.
“I just want to thank the Lord again and again and again that she is safe,” said Char Debina after hearing the news her daughter had been found.
According to Char Debina, Mikella Debina escaped her captor when he made a stop for food at Cafe Pesto in Hilo. The man reportedly left the teen in his vehicle and she fled as soon as she could. A Good Samaritan recognized the brown-eyed, freckled skin girl and removed her from the area and notified police around 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
Shortly after receiving the news, the mother and a few others were flown via helicopter to reunite with Mikella Debina at the Hilo Police Station.
“Mikella we love you!!! Reunited with her Mom and Dad. I can’t wait to hug you❤️ Thank you to our Big small Island for bringing her home to us,” Laureen Debina posted on Facebook hours later with a photo of the teen with her parents.
While police were still searching for Mahi, the department issued a statement thanking the various agencies and partners involved in the effort to recover Mikella Debina.
“The Hawaii Police Department would like to express a heartfelt mahalo to the Hawai’i Fire Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, the Department of Land and Natural Resources, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, our private partners, and the countless community members who came together in a concerted effort, allocating numerous resources to this investigation and working tirelessly to locate Mikella,” the statement reads.
Mayor Mitch Roth also issued several statements related to the case.
“Mahalo for the great work of HPD, the FBI, and our community for finding the suspect in question in Mikella’s kidnapping,” Roth said in a statement posted on his official Facebook page after Mahi was arrested. “HPD is continuing the investigation and will continue to update the public as information becomes available. This response has been a true community effort and we cannot be more proud to live in a place where ‘ohana doesn’t just mean ‘related.’”
Several hours earlier, he cautioned in another statement that “Unfortunately, these things can happen anywhere, and we ask that everyone continue to be on alert and do what you can to keep yourself and your loved ones safe.”
The Debina ohana also released a statement Saturday evening thanking the community for helping to get the 15-year-old home safely.
“We’re overwhelmed by the amount of love and outpour of support from our community! It reminded us of what Hawai’i used to be,” the statement read. “Imagine if we all came together like this everyday to make these types of lude actions and criminal activities unacceptable in Hawai’i!! Together we can change what been happening here in our beautiful home!”
They also urged the public not to attack the family of Mahi.
“We ask the public not to bash the Mahi ‘ohana as we beleive the suspect is responsible for his own actions, decisions and consequences, which does not reflect the mahi family,” the Debina’s statement read.