Hawaii quarantine violators picked up in manhunt after violating rules again

A couple, who were arrested Tuesday for violating the state’s quarantine order, gave law enforcement the slip and broke the rules again before finally getting sent home today.

On Tuesday, Kimberly Kim Tien, a 34-year-old visitor from Las Vegas, and Edwin Htun, a 33-year-old visitor from Sydney, were arrested after a hotel manager turned them in for violating emergency rules. Since March 26, trans-Pacific passengers coming into Hawaii are required to follow a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine, which doesn’t even allow them to leave their lodging to buy food or groceries.

The LayLow, Autograph Collection manager reported the couple after an “irate” citizen flagged Tien for making Instagram posts that showed she was venturing outside of her Waikiki hotel room before she had completed her quarantine.

Special agents from the state Attorney General’s Office interviewed hotel staff and obtained records that showed that the pair had repeatedly left their hotel room from the day they arrived, April 15, through Monday.

Once the couple was released from custody Tuesday, they checked out of the LayLow hotel. The pair then checked into the Outrigger Waikiki and continued to violate the quarantine order by leaving their hotel room. When Outrigger Waikiki staff informed the couple that they must follow the quarantine, they checked out and were unsupervised for much of the day.

Once law enforcement found out that the couple was on the run, they sent a bulletin to area hotels warning that the pair could be attempting to secure lodging at a new hotel to avoid being located by law enforcement.

The couple was located Wednesday following a manhunt. Law enforcement escorted them to the Daniel K. International Airport Wednesday night to ensure their departure on a California-bound flight.

The couple’s airfare home was not paid by the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii because it was determined that they had the means to pay for their own flight.