Stairway to Heaven: Daylenn Pua's Disappearance

Written by: Kenzie Desrosiers

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On February 21, 2015, 18-year-old Daylenn “Moke” Pua of the Island of Hawaii, traveled to Oahu to visit his grandmother, Martha Bear.

A week later, Daylenn left his grandmother’s home at 6 a.m. to catch the bus to go hiking. Daylenn was last heard from around 11 a.m. when he sent pictures to his family. He has not been heard from since.

On Friday afternoon, after failing to return home, Martha reported him missing. According to authorities, his phone last pinged at the Haiku Stairs, otherwise known as the Stairway to Heaven, which has been off limits to the public since 1987 when it was deemed too dangerous.

According to Martha, Daylenn expressed interest in the trail, even posted to his Facebook page, but she told him that the stairs were closed. “You cannot climb that mountain…If you go up there, you can get locked up,” she told him.

Just two weeks prior, the island was hit by a storm that caused a mudslide which destroyed a large section of the stairs. Daylenn’s uncle, Addison Pua, fears that he may become injured during a fall or suffer from hypothermia.

A search for the high school senior began Saturday morning but around 3 p.m. the operation was suspended due to bad weather. A ground and air search resumed the following morning. When no sign of Daylenn was found, the search was suspended around 5 p.m. due to darkness.

On Monday, March 2, five searchers, including two military nurses, began a search about 20 feet from the Kulana’ahane Trail. After hiking for three hours, they reported hearing a cry for help coming from the left side of the trail. After calling 911, HFD began their search.

When the wind died down, they reported hearing “I’m down here!” The searchers stayed in the area for another hour trying to listen for another cry for help but the wind was so bad and the clouds were rolling in.

Just before 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March3, the HFD suspended the search after exhausting all resources, including HFD, Navy personnel, volunteers, drone, and heat detecting devices, in the search for the missing teen but no signs of Daylenn were found.

Daylenn’s social media has remained inactive since 2015. His final post read, “and the hike begins.”

After an extensive search for Daylen turned up no leads, family and friends began to dive into his social media and text messages for answers. After studying the photos Daylenn sent to family on the morning of his disappearance, family members noticed a man in the distance.

The family continues to ask for help identifying the man in the photo in the hope that he may offer a clue as to Daylenn’s location.

Some have theorized that the unidentified man may have killed or kidnapped Daylenn.

Three weeks after his disappearance, hikers found a decomposing body near Kuliouou Road. Authorities have identified the remains but have yet to publicly make an announcement. They don’t expect foul play.

Until otherwise stated, Daylenn remains missing.