Police search for woman by air

Maui police returned Tuesday to search the area where missing 27-year-old pregnant woman Carly "Charli" Scott’s clothing and torched SUV were found in February.

Police detectives were aided by Special Response Team officers and a Maui Fire Department helicopter to search areas inaccessible by foot. The area — between Hono­manu and Kea­nae — had been searched previously by land along the coastline, and Tuesday’s search completed the search of the area by air, said police Lt. William Juan.

Scott was last seen Feb. 9 by Steven Capo­bi­anco, her ex-boyfriend and father of her unborn child, who has been identified by police as a person of interest in her disappearance.

During a Kihei community meeting held Feb. 18, police and county officials discussed searches for Scott and Moreira "Mo" Monsalve, 46, who disappeared in January.

Scott’s mother, Kimberlyn Scott, said Tuesday of the Maui Police Department, "I do believe they have stepped things up."

She said some officers have been volunteering to take part in the searches. "Some of the officers that I have personally spoken to have been personally affected," Scott said. "One officer’s daughter was one of Charli’s best friends. It’s kind of reached in and touched everybody. It’s having an effect. I’m just glad for the help."

Scott said her daughter, who would be six months pregnant now, selected the name Joshua Aidan for her unborn baby.

She said the community has come out in large numbers to search. "It’s beautiful and amazing — all the people getting involved, their feet, their eyes searching for my daughter."

"We still hold out hope that Charli is still alive, but we must face facts it doesn’t look good," Scott said.

She also praised Jeff Simon, her husband’s co-worker, who has served as search director.

Simon started a nonprofit organization called Maui Search and Rescue to unite and organize volunteers with specialties who assist in the searches. The group could be tapped to assist with future lost, missing or injured people as well in natural disasters, he said.

Harry Donenfeld, working with Simon’s group, used a drone equipped with a video camera to search for Scott in steep cliffs along Hana Highway and a large bay, then reviewed the video frame by frame.

He said drones can fly low, through trees, at a moment’s notice at a fraction of the cost of helicopters.

Simon said the biggest obstacle is a lack of ability to communicate because cellphones and regular radios don’t work well amid the coast area’s peaks and ridges.

In the Monsalve case, Simon used drone gear to survey terrain in ravines, he said.