Skillful sleuth reunites families

By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer

Private investigator and retired FBI agent Hilton Lui's office and cellular telephone numbers both end in "0007." Although he insists it's not a play on James Bond, Lui fills the role of a special agent in his part-time job.

Private investigator Hilton Lui took six months to reunite Air Force Master Sgt. Faith Perkins, left, with sister Faye Dudoit Mercado. Photo courtesy of Hilton Lui

Lui has worked about 100 cases since becoming a searcher in 1999 and claims an 80 percent success rate. Only about 5 percent of his searches are requests from biological parents looking for children, he says.

"It gives me a lot of satisfaction and makes me happy when people who haven't seen each other for 20, 30, 40 years are reunited," Lui said. "I've had wonderful reunions. That's what makes me feel this is worth it."

He started this year with six cases and all have had happy endings, including Hiroko Teruya's reunion with three children she put up for adoption 40 years ago.

The story of Frannie Chung, Wes Naganuma and Keith Omizo finding their biological mother and brother, Michael Goss, was featured in The Advertiser on Mother's Day.

Requesting a search is not difficult, Lui says. The first step is getting a consent form at Family Court.

"I'd suggest filling out the form at Family Court, that way you don't have to get it notarized," Lui added, noting that no search for an adopted child under the age of 18 will be approved.

	HILTON LUI
•	Age: 59
•	Position: Private investigator, Family Court-approved searcher.
•	Education: Lana'i High School, master's (public administration) and business management degrees from University of Utah
•	Background: Former Army captain, artillery battalion communications officer in Vietnam (1968-69). Retired from FBI (1970-1993). Wiretap and yakuza expert. Assigned 20 years in Hawai'i, where he worked on local organized crime cases (1972-84) that led to convictions of Nappy Pulawa, Earl Kim and Henry Huihui. President of Hilton and Associates, a private investigations-security consultant firm; married to former Laura Sorayama of Maui; son James, 23, attends Brigham Young University; daughter Charlene, 17, is at Punahou.
•	Interesting facts: Born on Lana'i, Dec. 7, 1941. Devoted New York Yankees fan whose collection of memorabilia includes framed autographed photos of Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford, and a prized mint-condition two-volume collection of photos and stories on Joe DiMaggio, which he purchased for $25 at a bargain book store in San Francisco.

The fee is set by the state and is comparable to other jurisdictions, says Family Court Director Kenneth Ling.

Lui has access to private Family Court records.

"It's a starting point," he said. "Sometimes, there's just names. No address, no age, nothing else.

"But I usually start with a name, date of birth, place of birth. Females are the hardest to locate because their last names change."

Lui uses five different types of search programs, such as the Social Security Death Index, and his experience as a professional investigator to track leads. He also spends many hours at public libraries looking for information.

"Most of the time when the parents are not together anymore, I find that the guy either didn't know he had a child, knew but didn't accept it or is no longer married to the mother," Lui said. "Not being able to support or afford a child is the most common reason for putting a children up for adoption."

The Teruya case is a good example how Lui does his job.

Starting with the Social Security Death Index, Lui determined the father was dead. He did not pass on the information until it was confirmed.

He then ran the name Hiroko and her date of birth in another search program and came up with the last name Teruya.

"That was the only individual in Hawai'i with that first name and date of birth," Lui said. "A lot of it is basic hit and run."

Lui got a telephone number from another data base and called Teruya. The woman turned out to be the one he was looking for.

"I told her a young man is trying to find you and she said she was trying to find her children," Lui said. "So I gave her Keith's name, address and telephone number."

That's as far as Lui is permitted to go. If Teruya had said she did not want to be found, he would have reported that back to Omizo without revealing any names, addresses or telephone number.

Lui has six months to complete a search.

It took him that long to find an older sister for Air Force Master Sgt. Faith Perkins, 39. Perkins was adopted when she was 11 months old by the late Liwra Whaley and his wife, Stella, of 'Aiea, and is the niece of the late William "Bill" Whaley, who was a well-known athlete in Hawai'i.

She and her 45-year-old sister, Faye Dudoit Mercado, were the children of Ethel Kop DeSantos and the late Clarence DeSantos, Perkins said. They were reunited last month.

"All I was looking for was access to my records," Perkins said. "I didn't want to impose on anyone. But now I have a whole sister. It's more than I ever imagined. Yes, it was worth it."

Rod Ohira can be reached by phone at 535-8181, or by e-mail at rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.