The search for Daylenn Pua is continuing Thursday, exactly one week since he failed to return from a hike, seemingly swallowed up by the Koolau mountains.
On Wednesday, a Navy helicopter, three drone operators, about a dozen spotters and roughly 20 to 30 hikers, including strangers who were moved to help the family of the Kona man, searched in the mountains between Haiku and Moanalua.
Meanwhile, family members on Hawaii island remotely pored over the high-resolution photos taken by a drone operator to see if they could spot some sign of the missing 18-year-old.
Others brought food, including plate lunches, poke and pizza, and drinks for the family and volunteers.
The Honolulu Fire Department concluded a four-day search for Pua, which included the use of a helicopter and rescue personnel, at 2 p.m. Tuesday.
Hiker David Concepcion and family members suspect Pua took the Kulana‘ahane Trail, the more difficult of two trails beginning in Moanalua Valley, on the Leeward side of the Koolau Mountain Range to try to reach the back part of the Haiku Stairs.
This is based on the sequence of photos Pua posted on Facebook, said Kim Morishige, the girlfriend of Pua’s brother, Kama.
The last photo posted and his last location based on his cellphone signal was just before a treacherous, extremely narrow spine of the ridge trail, Concepcion said.
Schofield Barracks Sgt. David Padilla, 41, called three co-workers Tuesday night after learning of the missing teen, and they took Wednesday off to join the search. They began 6:30 a.m. and returned at 3:30 p.m.
"You don’t really take it too hard until you come back empty-handed," he said. "We call it a failed mission. I’m going to drive home and they’re not. It definitely got personal."
Chris Yuen, pastor of His Highest Praise church, brought pizzas and drinks.
"When I heard the news — I guess it’s a father’s heart — I really had to support the dad," he said. "I grabbed (my 15-year-old son) and held him."
Morishige, 25, coordinated search efforts from Moanalua Valley Neighborhood Park, and created a Facebook page, "Search for Moke Pua," as a "central hub for updating and providing information" on the search, she said. "It’s been connecting like crazy — family, friends, people who want to help out," she said, and nearly 400 members joined Wednesday.
The Navy’s Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 37, based at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, got a request from the Federal Aviation Administration to support the search, using its multispectral targeting system capabilities to search the ridgeline above the Haiku Stairs.
Kenji Croman and two others flew drones till 12:15 p.m., when they were grounded by the Navy. He has posted the high-definition images on the Facebook page, asking for help in reviewing the images for any sign of Pua.
