Daylenn Pua’s family remained hopeful as Monday approached, marking the fourth day since Pua left Waianae to hike Haiku Stairs alone in a T-shirt, shorts and slippers.

“I’m just praying that they find him,” said his 66-year-old grandmother, Martha Bear, of Waianae. “Regardless if he’s hurt, just find him. My mind is just wondering.”

Pua is a senior at Ke Kula O Ehunuikaimalino, a Hawaiian immersion school in Kona, and came to Oahu on Feb. 21 to visit his grandmother.

His sister Dijzhonett Phipps said through social media that he loves to play volleyball and paddle and has six siblings.

His second cousin, Zblaze Gouveia, said by phone from Kona that Pua grew up outdoors and at the beach, and she remains confident he can survive the ordeal.

“I believe in him,” she said. “I just can’t stop thinking about him.”

She said Pua, 18, is an adventurous person and a skilled hula dancer and singer.

“He always lights up the day,” she said.

Pua left his grandmother’s home in Waianae about 6 a.m. Thursday to catch a bus to go hiking at a place he didn’t disclose, his grandmother said. 

She reported him missing to police Friday afternoon because he didn’t return the previous night. She said authorities traced his cell phone to the Windward Oahu attraction, which was how she learned Pua went to hike the stairs, also known as Stairway to Heaven.

Bear said she spoke with Pua on Wednesday about Haiku Stairs and she told him the trial is closed.

“You cannot climb that mountain,” she said she told him. “If you go up there, you can get locked up.”

Haiku Stairs has been closed for nearly 30 years.

On Friday, Pua posted pictures to social media indicating he was on the stairs, said Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Kendall Ching.

Firefighters launched a search for Pua Saturday morning until bad weather ended the operation about 3 p.m., Ching said.

Firefighters resumed searching Sunday morning, walking parts of the stairs and conducting a search by helicopter. Ching said firefighters on a helicopter scanned the windward side of the Koolau Range and part of the Moanaloa Trail, which descends from the stairs towards Aiea. 

No sign of Pua was found.

Darkness ended the search Sunday at about 5 p.m. Firefighters plan to reassess the weather early Monday to decide whether to continue searching a third day.