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Two rescued from boat off Moloka'i

Maui County fire rescue crews picked up a man and a woman from a disabled sailboat Monday off Moloka'i. The 36-foot boat, which had been adrift all night, was found yesterday morning.

The boat's owner and a friend had taken it out off Kaunakakai when the motor failed and damage to the mast support precluded use of the sail. The owner asked a friend on Moloka'i to contact the Coast Guard, which then alerted the fire department.

A rescue crew spotted the 36-foot craft from shore and sent a boat to the location, about three miles offshore, in 8- to 10-foot swells. The two stranded sailors used an inflatable boat to reach the rescue craft, about 20 feet away.

The boat was found this morning about 12 miles off the southwest point of Moloka'i.

Suspect held in Waikele attack

Police yesterday charged a 34-year-old man for allegedly driving a stolen car and were pursuing charges in an another case where the man is accused of attacking three people with a hammer and knife last week in Waikele.

Robert Flubacher was charged with auto theft and his bail was set at $20,000, police said.

Flubacher is suspected of first-degree robbery in a Dec. 4 incident at a Lumiauau Street residence, where he was a guest of one of the victims, a 21-year-old woman.

Police said Flubacher hit the woman with a hammer during an argument with her, and assaulted two men, 24 and 30, hitting them with the hammer and stabbing the younger man.

New police official named on Kaua'i

LIHU'E, Kaua'i — Acting Kaua'i Police Chief Wilfred Ihu has named Gordon Isoda the new assistant chief in charge of the Investigative Services Bureau.

Isoda, 48, most recently was the administrative lieutenant in the department's Patrol Services Bureau. He is a 17-year veteran of the force, and was a police officer in Bellevue, Wash., before that.

He replaces retired Assistant Chief Melvin Morris.