Search for teenage inmates closes 3 Windward campuses

Hawaii Pacific University’s Hawaii Loa campus, Maunawili Elementary School and Olomana School were closed Friday morning as police searched for two escapees from the nearby Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility.

Kailua High School was under a perimeter lockdown with heightened security at the school’s entrance, said Department of Education spokeswoman Dara Young.

Police said two 17-year-old boys escaped Thursday morning.

State Department of Human Services spokeswoman Kayla Rosenfeld said both of the escapees were at the facility for robberies, one of them facing a felony robbery charge. She said they ran while in a vocational education class at the maintenance shop outside the walls of the facility. An escape charge against one of them is pending after he ran during a doctor’s appointment.

Maunawili Elementary School and Olomana School went into lockdown Thursday at 11 a.m., shortly after the escape, and remained in lockdown until the school day ended after 2 p.m.

The Department of Education decided to close the schools Friday morning in case the escapees were still in the area. The department announced the closure on a phone and email alert system, Twitter and the DOE website starting at 6:20 a.m.

"It’s precautionary," said Alex Da Silva, a spokesman for the Department of Education. "It’s for the safety of the kids and the staff."

Hawaii Pacific University closed classes on its Windward campus until 11 a.m. The downtown campus remained open.

Classes resumed at 11 a.m. and extra security was brought in to patrol the campus. Because the escapees had not been caught, HPU reminded students and faculty to be alert and check for updates.

Le Jardin Academy, 917 Kalanianaole Highway off Kapaa Quarry Road, was open Friday morning after getting an all-clear from police, said Headmaster Lou Young.

Young said school security personnel called him about midnight to say that police reported sightings of the two juvenile escapees in several areas, including Kapaa Quarry Road.

"So they wanted to come on campus and do a thorough search, which they did, complete with dogs and helicopter and the whole business," Young said. After searching the entire area, including the surrounding woods, police cleared the school to open Friday.

Young said the school hired extra security personnel Friday "just in case."

There have been reports of other sightings, including Castle Junction, he said, so the school remained "cautiously alert."

The Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility is near the schools on Kalanianaole Highway in Kailua. It houses juveniles who have been convicted or are awaiting trial for serious crimes.

Rosenfeld said the escape was the first this year. There were four last year.

Maunawili has about 384 students in kindergarten to sixth grade and 60 staff and faculty. Olomana School is an alternative school for juveniles at the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility and other youth offenders and students who have difficulties in mainstream schools. It has about 91 students in intermediate and high school grade levels and 88 faculty and staff.

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Star-Advertiser assistant webmaster Craig Gima, reporters June Watanabe and Gregg K. Kakesako and The Associated Press contributed to this report.