Red buoy resumes bobbing after vanishing for repairs

Question: I frequently paddle my one-person canoe from Magic Island to the Diamond Head buoy and back. But on Friday, Jan. 16, I saw a Coast Guard boat towing the buoy toward Pearl Harbor. I assume the buoy needed repair and that’s why it was towed away. Is that what the Coast Guard has planned? Do they plan to return the buoy and, if so, when? It’s very strange not to have that red buoy sitting on the horizon, about a half-mile out to sea from the Diamond Head lighthouse. It is a valuable marker where the reef begins for deep-sea vessels.

Answer: After about two weeks of repairs, the buoy was returned to its usual place Saturday, said Chief Petty Officer Kurt Fredrickson, spokesman for the 14th Coast Guard District.

The buoy was retrieved and taken to Sand Island after the Coast Guard received a report that it had drifted off station.

The boating community was alerted to the temporary removal of Diamond Head Lighted Buoy 2.

Notification of "the discrepancy" was made by the Coast Guard via a "Local Notice to Mariners," which is published weekly, as well as through broadcasts over VHF channel 16 as a "Broadcast Notice to Mariners," Fredrickson said.

"All aids to navigation play an important role in warning mariners of hazards to navigation, and the communication of any discrepancies to those aids is equally important," he said.

Mahalo

To Kapua Piimauna, a clerk at Western Union at the Aina Haina Foodland, who saved me from being scammed of $900. I told her I got a call from someone saying he was my grandson and that he got into an accident in Mexico. I said he didn’t sound like my grandson. Someone else came on the line and said he was a lawyer. They wanted us to send $900 immediately so my grandson could return to Honolulu. I was asked not to tell my grandson’s mom and that it was a secret between us. The lawyer said he would call back in an hour and a half to make sure the money was sent. I was told to go to the Western Union at Safeway or Foodland. Fortunately, I ended up with Ms. Piimauna, who saw a red flag and asked us questions. She said if he was a high school student, he should be in school and told us to call his mom. She said her grandmother had a similar call so she was aware that this is a scam. I am so grateful to her. I think the caller may be a local person who knows about our family, so I want to warn everyone to be careful and double-check with the person supposedly needing the money. I try to be so careful about these scams, but they are so good in getting you hooked. Thanks be to God, also, for protecting me. — A Grateful Senior

Unfortunately, the scam described has been going on for years and apparently keeps finding victims.

Kokua Line warned readers about it in 2009: bit.ly/1Dg6BYT.

The Honolulu Police Department last issued a warning in March about the scam ensnaring an elderly victim.

The story given to hook the victim was similar to yours. The sad part was that the woman, believing her grandson was in trouble on the mainland, sent the scammers a cashier’s check for $200,000.

HPD opened a first-degree theft investigation. However, the money was never recovered, said HPD spokeswoman Michelle Yu.

HPD also advises contacting your grandchild or another relative to confirm the grandchild’s whereabouts. It also warns never to give out your address or give money to strangers.

Also, contact HPD if you or someone you know has been a victim.

"Please add HPD’s thanks to Ms. Piimauna and others like her who are looking out for our kupuna," Yu said.

Mahalo

To a kind young woman. Using a cane due to knee injury, I was having difficulty wrangling 35 pounds of cat litter from the cart to my car in the Kapolei Costco parking lot. The young woman lifted the bulky container with ease, asking me whether I wanted it in the front seat or trunk, truly making my day. — Aloha Lives

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Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.

CORRECTION: A reader thanks a clerk at the Aina Haina Foodland. An earlier version of this story and the story in the print edition said the clerk worked at the Hawaii Kai Foodland.