When we think of people mysteriously vanishing, especially when they’re hikers in the woods,
we almost automatically think of some dark, deserted and densely wooded place in the bowels
of some National Park or forest somewhere.
Even when we think of gorgeous places where we know people have vanished, where the woods
are lush with trees, the views are scenic and the atmosphere serene – we don’t really
consider that these places are the exact spots where most of our hikers and campers; our
missing in the woods in general go missing.
Today we are discussing such a place where it is so incredibly beautiful to behold and
peaceful to be near but where hikers have gone mysteriously missing and seemed to have
vanished right off the face of the Earth.
More specifically we are speaking of hikers who vanished in Hawaii.
There is so little information on each of the following cases it kind of makes a person
wonder why the publicity is so light for people vanishing in this part of the world.
Joseph Wyatt
On Thursday February 3, 2022, 23 year old Joseph Wyatt left his home with his dog “Mana”
to go on a short camping trip.
He was never seen again.
After not hearing anything from him for two whole days, his live-in girlfriend called
the authorities and reported him as missing.
Joseph and his dog were said to have been planning on camping out near Nakalele Point.
Nakalele Point, which in Hawaiian means “the leaning”, is known for being dangerous when
waves come crashing in and it’s a hot spot because people go there to experience and
view its blowhole.
His family has asked the public to keep their eyes out for him and many volunteers helped
in the search efforts along with authorities, including the Maui police and fire department.
The official search only lasted a couple of days and then for reasons unknown was called
off.
Joseph’s family created a facebook page and anyone with information is asked to call
808-244-6400. Mana was never found either.
Simon Owen
Simon Owen had just completed his junior year at Texas Wesleyan University when he disappeared
without a trace on June 6th 1994.
Simon lived in Fort Worth and was visiting Hawaii specifically to do some hiking.
He was last seen near Manoa Falls, approximately 8.5 miles from Waikiki. Only his bicycle was
found at the very bottom of the falls but it was said he was also most likely carrying
a maroon book bag with him which was never found.
The local authorities searched extensively and even billionaire Ross Perot got involved,
donating funds and whatever else was needed to continue with the search.
Despite all of this and also the help of dozens of volunteers, no trace of Simon was ever
found.
At the time of his disappearance he was working in a restaurant in Waikiki in Hawaii.
The police have maintained that foul play is not suspected in the disappearance and
have given the alternate theory that perhaps Simon had accidentally fallen into some deep
valley pocket where he would never be found or seen alive again.
By all accounts Simon Owen was simply taking some time off from his studies and trying
to hike the beautiful and scenic areas of Hawaii’s popular tourist and hiking spots.
He didn’t seem to have gone off the beaten trail- so what could have possibly happened
to him?
Simon was born on October 9th, 1972 and at the time of his disappearance he would have
been 22 years old.
Now, in 2022 he would be 50 years old. He was 6 feet tall and weighed 155 pounds.
Simon has brown hair and brown eyes and has a tattoo of what’s described as “an encircled
fish” on his right ankle along with some scars on the back of his neck, his right hip
and his right shoulder.
If you have any information on what happened to Simon Owen all those years ago, please
contact the Honolulu Police Department at 808 529-3394
Moses Gardner
On Sunday May 8th, 2022 a 50 year old man named Moses Gardner went missing while hiking
into Koke’e near Milolii Ridge. Moses is a Lawa’i resident and there is absolutely
no other information available on this case. This is why we are bringing these cases to
you folks shouldn’t there be at least a little bit more information to the public
about these random men these hikers who all seem to be vanishing without a trace somewhere
in Hawaii?
Yet there is nothing but a paragraph each- two if we are lucky and to us that’s a tragedy
in and of itself. What is going on over there in the Aloha state.
Aloha means both hello and goodbye and it seems these people who have randomly disappeared
experienced both of those things.
Anywhere else in the world, at least as far as what we have covered here, there is at
least a few pages of information and more than one source but here there is nothing
and again, that’s very concerning to us.
Here is another hiker gone missing in this beautiful and scenic, almost paradise-like
state.
Thomas Lockhart
A 61 year old California native named Thomas Lockhart went missing on May 1st, 2022 when,
at approximately 6:30 in the evening he went out for a jog in the Pipiwai Trails which
is located in the Haleakala National Park.
He was last seen, though it’s unknown by whom, before his jog where he was staying
at the Kipahulu Valley farm and was reported as missing by his family the next day, May
2nd when he never returned and no one had heard anything from him since he left.
Search efforts started immediately and were suspended overnight only to be continued the
next day, Tuesday May 3rd but to no avail.
His family traveled from California to Hana to help in the search for him and pleaded
with the public to share any video they might have facing the road in Hana if they see anyone
who was matching Thomas’s description.
At the time of his disappearance Thomas Lockhart is said to have weighed approximately 165
pounds and stood at 6 feet tall.
He had graying brown hair. Anyone with any of the above mentioned video evidence is asked
to send it via email to the family at:
findtomlockhart@gmail.com
or to call 325-261-3189.
Kyle Britain
On August 30th, 2019 27 year old Kyle Britain was visiting the forests of Waipio Valley
in Hawaii.
He told friends he was going to be hiking the Waipio Valley’s Z Trail but that he
wasn’t going to be hiking the entire trail that day.
Kyle had been hiking since he was a small child and was considered to be an experienced
hiker by everyone who knew him.
Waipiʻo Valley is a valley located in the Hamakua District of the Big Island of Hawaiʻi.
"Waipiʻo" means "curved water" in the Hawaiian language.
The Z Trail, nicknamed because of the route's zig-zag shape, climbs 1,200 feet to the top
of a ridge before descending into the Waimanu Valley.
The first ¾ of a mile is a very strenuous switchback and near the top, there is a look
down there is a great view of the Waipio Valley.
This is a trail that you absolutely should not attempt if you are a novice hiker.
Once you reach the top of the ridge, it is another eight miles of hiking through gorges
and over hills to reach Waimanu Valley.
Hikers are warned not to attempt to do this hike in a single day as you need to cross
13 streams along the way.
It is also not advised during the rainy season where large amounts of mud and swollen streams
make the trek dangerous.
The descent into Waimanu can be extremely difficult and treacherous.
Kyle’s father Steven Britain explained that there was another hiker who came forward and
claimed to have last seen his son near a bathroom at the Waipio Valley overlook at around 6pm
the day he disappeared.
Steven said, “He asked where the bathroom was and said, 'Hey have a good day,' and that
was the last time.”
After 24 days of extensive searches but no clues or leads, on September 22nd, 2019 Kyle’s
family made the heartbreaking decision to call off the search for him.
His cell phone last pinged at the top of the Z Trail and this was most likely a lucky break
as cell phone service is extremely bad in that particular area of Waipio Valley.
Steve Britain said of his cell phone records, “Some of this data is open to interpretation,
especially when only one cell phone tower is involved.
No triangulation is possible with only one cell tower.
There are degrees of reliability-probability involved.
The farther you get from the one tower, the less reliable the data is.”
Kyle’s brothers Cade and Sean were involved in helping to analyze the cell phone data
but it still led nowhere and Kyle Britain has never been seen or heard from again.
At the time of his disappearance he was said to be slim built with black hair, brown eyes
and fair skin.
He was 5 foot 10 inches tall (177.8 cm) On the day of his final hike he had a black backpack
with him which had a T Mobile logo on it.
His car was recovered after it was found parked at the top of the Waipio Lookout.
There were no further clues or evidence in the vehicle and this case remains open to
this day.
Khiara Henry
On July 21st, 2019 23 year old went missing while taking a vacation in Maui for just a
few days though it’s unknown what she was doing there specifically except taking a short
trip.
Another California Native, Khiara was from San Diego and was in Hawaii staying at a hotel
in Khiara for a brief vacation.
She was last seen at a Hertz Rental car company at approximately 2pm on the 21st.
The vehicle she rented was found two days later on July 23rd in a gravel parking lot
at Wai-anapanapa State Park.
All of her luggage, her credit cards and her license were still in the car.
Khiara’s backpack which she had with her when she was last seen and the key to the
car were missing and have never been found.
After checking the mileage on the car it seems as though she drove directly to the park where
the vehicle was found from the Hertz where she rented it.
She is seen on CCTV footage at the rental company but this is the last time anyone is
known to have seen her alive. She never boarded her flight home on the 29th.
Her family continues to make frequent trips to the island despite there being no clues
or leads as to what could have happened to this young woman who was always in touch with
her family.
They say they will never give up the search and they know something is wrong because Khiara
would never be out of touch for this long.
Khiara is somewhere between 5’2 and 5’3’’ tall and is enrolled as a member of the Sycuan
Band of the Kumeyaay Nation.
Khiara has brown hair and brown eyes and has both her ears and her nose pierced although
she was not known to be wearing any of her nose jewelry at the time of her disappearance.
On her upper right arm she has a tattoo of sunflowers and praying hands above her right
elbow.
Jeffrey Zoltowski
A 23 year old Michigan resident and Wayne University student named Jeffrey Zoltowski
went missing on March 31st, 1993 while hiking into Wailau Valley on Molokai in Hawaii.
When his feet became blistered from walking so much during the hike, he managed to flag
down a helicopter that belonged to the Department of Land and Natural Resources because he didn’t
feel as though he would be able to make it back home on his own.
Unfortunately, according to the pilot he did not see a “life threatening situation”
and therefore made the demand that in order for him to help Jeffrey and fly him out of
the area, the young man would have to fork up $600 right then and there.
Obviously Jeffrey was not carrying this kind of cash with him while on a hike and begged
the pilot to help him.
The pilot turned him away and left him there to fend for himself.
The pilot did take Jeffrey’s backpack for him saying he figured it would help him get
back easier than if he had had to carry it with him.
He took the pack to the DLNR service yard where it was later recovered by authorities.
Jeffrey Zoltowski was never seen or heard from again and after his bag had been at the
service yard for a whopping 41 days, he was finally reported by someone there as missing.
There was a possible and alleged sighting of him when in 2001 a homeless woman claimed
to have seen Jeffrey, several times, panhandling near a homeless shelter in Honolulu.
She described him as having heavy facial hair and facial scarring, walking with a limp and
having slurred speech. She claimed the man said his name was either Sam or Samuel but
none of this was ever able to be substantiated and there is still no evidence to this day
as to whether or not this man was Jeffrey Zoltowski.
His case remains unsolved and his father has never given up searching for him.
At the time of his disappearance Jeff was 6 feet tall and weighed about 160 pounds.
He is described as a caucasian male with brown hair and eyes.
On his right outer ankle bone he has a birthmark which is about the size of a nickel or quarter.
He also has a scar right underneath his left eye.
It’s possible he has some sort of facial hair like a mustache, beard or goatee. He
is left-handed and goes by “Jeff.”
He had previously fractured his left hand and ankle.
He was last officially seen wearing white shorts and a purple tie-dyed t-shirt.
The information given by the woman in 2001 lead some to believe that, if the man was
Jeff Zoltowski, he most likely suffered some sort of head injury in the past and may be
unaware of who he is.
He was also claimed to have been seen asking vehicles stopped in traffic near that same
homeless shelter by a KMart and asking for change and money.
There is no further evidence or clues as to Jeff’s whereabouts but his family continues
to hope for his
safe return.