Police Expand Search For Missing WomanDetectives Question Man, Confiscate VehiclesPOSTED: 6:49 am HST April 19,
2007 KAHANA VALLEY, Hawaii -- The search for a missing woman visiting from Japan took a new direction on Wednesday.Homicide detectives joined the search for Masumi Watanabe, 21, and the area in which they are looking for her has expanded.The Japanese visitor was last seen in Pupukea. Watanabe has been missing for nearly a week.Police said they were not ruling out any possibilities as to what may have happened to the young woman. One of those possibilities is that she was abducted, they said.A tip led police to expand their search from Waimea to the windward side of Oahu.Honolulu Police Department detectives, Specialized Services Division officers and Department of Land and Natural Resources crew scoured Kahana Valley along with search dogs.Police would not say what exactly they were looking for, but detectives did recover some items from the brush that would be taken in for testing.Police have also questioned a man in connection with Watanabe's disappearance. He is an employee of Hauoli Pest Control. Police did not arrest him. However, they confiscated two vehicles, his personal car and a company truck.An employee at Hauoli Pest Control told KITV that the man is no longer working with the company.The 21-year-old woman had been staying with a host family in Waimea and was scheduled to return to Japan on Friday.Authorities plan to continue the search. Police asked that anyone with information about Watanabe's whereabouts call police. Previous Story:
Copyright 2007 by TheHawaiiChannel.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |








