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Federal officers are seeking information on the suspicious death of a juvenile female monk seal on Molokai.
RJ42 was found dead May 31 at the west end of Kawaaloa Bay in Moomomi, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Following a postmortem exam, NOAA found that the injuries were purposely inflicted by individual(s) who caused significant trauma.
This is the sixth suspected monk seal killing on Molokai, and third in Moomomi, since 2009.
Anyone with information can contact NOAA at 800-853-1964 or respectwildlife@noaa.gov. Reports can be made anonymously, and NOAA might offer an award for information that leads to an arrest, conviction or civil penalty.
HAWAII ISLAND
Police investigating death on boat that ran aground
Hawaii island police are investigating a death on a boat that ran aground in Kailua-Kona on Saturday evening.
At about 8 p.m. Saturday, the Hawaii County Fire Department received an emergency call about a boat that had crashed into a cliff along the shoreline fronting Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport.
Firefighters found an unresponsive male in the ocean fronting the airport. He was taken to Kona Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He was identified as Benjamin Charles Keely, 29, of Hawaiian Acres.
The second occupant was identified as Gary Witt, 48, of Hawaiian Ocean View Estates. He is currently listed in stable condition at Kona Community Hospital.
An autopsy to determine Keely’s cause of death has been scheduled for today.
Anyone with information can contact Detective David Matsushima at 326-4646, ext. 224, or David.Matsushima@hawaiicounty.gov.
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