The case against a Honolulu police captain accused of striking a high school water polo player with an umbrella was dismissed Tuesday when the student failed to appear in court for a second time.

Trial was supposed to have begun in Ewa District Court for Capt. Mark Ward, who allegedly struck the female student, then 17, at a high school water polo meet between Castle and Mililani high schools in May 2010.

But the girl and her family, who are in the military, moved to the mainland shorty after the incident, said Dave Koga, spokesman for the prosecutor’s office.

Ward was charged with one count of third-degree assault, a misdemeanor. Deputy Prosecutor Addison Bonner said Ward was accused of striking the girl with the handle of an umbrella, causing redness to her skin.

District Judge Faye Koyanagi dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning the charges cannot be refiled by prosecutors. Koyanagi noted that the teenager also failed to appear for a scheduled hearing on March 15. At that hearing, District Judge Clarence Pacarro warned that the case would be dropped with prejudice if the witness did not appear at the next hearing, Koyanagi noted.

Bonner said it would have been difficult to prosecute the case without the complaining witness. Prosecutors offered to compensate her to return to Hawaii for the trial, but she declined, Koga said.

Ward is a 27-year veteran assigned to the Homeland Security Division.

Scott Collins, Ward’s attorney, said he had been ready to proceed to trial but that the dismissal means his client "can move forward with his life."

Collins said Ward has been exonerated by HPD’s internal administrative review board.

Ward has been on restricted duty since the complaint was made, a common practice in such cases, an HPD spokeswoman said.