Update on the Investigation of Body Found Along Bayfront Highway in Hilo

Hawaiʻi Island police continue to requests the public’s assistance in a murder investigation following the discovery of a body along Bayfront Highway in Hilo.

Detectives from the Area I Criminal Investigations Section and an evidence specialist continued processing the scene Sunday morning (December 30) and recovered evidence, which will be sent to a forensic lab for analysis.

Bayfront Highway was opened shortly after 10 a.m. after being closed in both directions overnight while detectives investigated the incident, which is classified as a second-degree murder.

Detectives are also reviewing videos from various businesses and establishments along Kamehameha Avenue.

Investigators also want to interview fishermen who frequent the Bayfront area, which is a popular location for shoreline fishing, and who may have left before police could contact them. In addition, police are asking that motorists or pedestrians call police if they were in the area and witnessed a confrontation near a silver or light-colored vehicle that was parked on the makai shoulder of the highway just makai of the Moʻoheau ball field.

On Saturday (December 29) at about 8:47 p.m., police received a number of calls of possible gunshots heard in the area of Moʻoheau Park in Hilo. Responding officers discovered an unresponsive male victim with apparent gunshot wounds.

Faafetai Fiu, 32, of Hilo was identified as the victim. He was taken to Hilo Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

No arrests have been made in this investigation.

An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday morning to determine the exact cause of death.

Police ask that anyone with information or who may have witnessed this incident contact Detective Robert Almeida at 961-2386 or ralmeida@co.hawaii.hi.us or Detective Norbert Serrao at 961-2383 nserrao@co.hawaii.hi.us.

Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 961-8300 in Hilo or 329-8181 in Kona and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. Crime Stoppers is a volunteer program run by ordinary citizens who want to keep their community safe. Crime Stoppers doesn’t record calls or subscribe to caller ID. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.

Why the Honolulu Airport is Named the John Rodgers Airport

Here is the reason why the Honolulu Airport is named the John Rodgers Airport.

…On August 31, 1925 at 2:55 p.m., Commander John Rodgers and his crew left San Pablo Bay, San Francisco in Navy PN-9 No. 1 to attempt the first flight across the Pacific Ocean from the Mainland U.S. to Hawaii.  The plane was forced to land in the ocean at 4:15 p.m. September 1 after running out of fuel about 365 miles from Oahu.

After three days of waiting to be picked up, the heroic crew crafted sails from the wings of the plane and sailed toward Hawaii.  Their food supply was exhausted after the third day and their water ran out on the sixth day at sea.  On the tenth day, they spotted Kauai.  Ten miles off shore they encountered a submarine which towed them safely into Ahukini Harbor and a heroes welcome.  The 1,841.12 statute miles flown from August 31 to their forced landing on September 1 was accepted by the F.A. I. as a new world airline distance record for Class C seaplanes that remained unbeaten for almost five years.

John Rodgers Airport was dedicated March 21, 1927.  The principal speaker at the dedication was the Honorable E. P. Warner, Assistant Secretary of the Navy.  The field was named in honor of the late Commander John Rodgers, who had been Commanding Officer of the Naval Air Station at Pearl Harbor from 1923 to 1925, when he left to command the Navy’s historical flight between the West Coast and Hawaii…

Two years before Lindbergh flies non-stop across the Atlantic, man and machine attempt this same daring feat across the Pacific resulting in a dramatically different outcome.

 

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• Nearest gas station to Honolulu airport closing (bizjournals.com)

 

2012 Year in Review – My Adventures This Year

Well once again the year is coming to an end and I like to thank everyone for reading my site and making it one of the more well known sites here on the Big Island.  A lot has happened this year… I haven’t been quite as busy as previous years as I made a commitment to myself to cut back on some things every now and then.

So here is a list of my top 10 adventures of 2012:

10. Getting a chance to meet world famous muralist Wyland at the Hawaii Conservation Conference and watching him paint a mural with children of Hawaii was pretty cool.

Wyland helps a child with a mural

9. During the Merrie Monarch, I was invited by the US NAVY to check out  Merrie Monarch Royal Court Visiting the USS Crommelin and that was cool because I’d never been on a NAVY ship while it’s been here on the Big Island.

Merrie Monarch Royalty boards the ship

8.  Sam Choy had his First Ever Sam Choy’s Keauhou Poke Contest this was a great event, however, sadly this would be the last time I saw my friend Guy Toyama who won in a category.

The late Guy Toyama shows off his award winning Abalone Poke.

7.  I’ve been fortunate enough to cover the Na Hoku Hanohano Music Awards the last few years and the Big Island did well again at the  2012 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards.

Graphics Award Winner Kuhao Zane and Kamele Eskaran for Kaunaloa (Kuana Torres Kahele)

6. My son and his cousins got a chance to Swim With the Dolphins at the Hilton Waikoloa Village and that was real special for them.

Hayden and some of his cousins.

5. Having an opportunity to cover Big Island Film Festival the last few years has always been special.  You never know who you will bump into!

Huffington Post blogger Jennifer Grisanti, Big Island Mayor Billy Kenoi, and Actress Eloise Mumford (The River)

4.  I got to go Skydiving…. AGAIN with Skydive Hawaii and every time I do this it’s an adrenaline rush!

BANZAI!

3. During the RIMPAC exercises, the USS Essex was based off the Big Island and I got to take an LCAC out to ship where I witnessed a MAN OVERBOARD and a Sailor Fall Off the Navy Ship USS Essex During RIMPAC Exercises

The LCAC Hovercraft that transported me out to the USS Essex.

2. Visiting the USNS Mercy for the second time was quite an experience as they flew us out there in a helicopter and then we got to travel back in with the ship and watch as the Sailors Manned the Rails of USNS Mercy as they were coming into Pearl Harbor.

The sailors pay their respect to the USS Arizona Memorial

And the number ONE adventure and/or experience I had in 2012, was getting a chance to hear and meet His Holiness the 13th Dalai Lama of Tibet and he actually held my hand!

Yep… that’s me on the far right in this picture. Go figure… even His Holiness the Dalai Lama has more hair then me! (Photo courtesy of Dallas Nagata White)

 

Big Island Police Launch Murder Investigation After Body Found Along Bayfront Highway

Hawaii Island police have launched a murder investigation after the discovery of a body along the Bayfront Highway in Hilo.

On Saturday (December 29) at about 8:47 p.m., police received a number of calls of possible gunshots heard in the area of Moʻoheau Park in Hilo. Responding officers discovered an unresponsive male victim with apparent gunshot wounds.

Police have positively identified the victim as 32 year-old Faafetai Fiu of Hilo.

The suspect in this investigation remains at large.

The Bayfront Highway was closed to traffic from Pauahi Street to Waianuenue Avenue while detectives from the Area I Criminal Investigations Section responded and are continuing the investigation, which is classified as a second-degree murder. The highway is expected to remain closed throughout Sunday. Traffic is being routed onto Kamehameha Avenue into Downtown Hilo.

An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday morning to determine the exact cause of death.

Police ask that anyone with information or who may have witnessed this incident contact Detective Robert Almeida at 961-2386 or ralmeida@co.hawaii.hi.us or Detective Norbert Serrao at 961-2383 nserrao@co.hawaii.hi.us.

Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 961-8300 in Hilo or 329-8181 in Kona and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. Crime Stoppers is a volunteer program run by ordinary citizens who want to keep their community safe. Crime Stoppers doesn’t record calls or subscribe to caller ID. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.