Friends, neighbors mourn the loss of Kahealani

By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Staff Writer

A pair of angel wings hangs crooked on the chain link fence outside the Pu'uwai Momi complex in Makalapa.

A poster of Kahealani Indreginal was taped to a utility pole outside the Pu'uwai Momi housing complex on Thursday while neighbors and friends searched for the missing 11-year-old. Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

Earlier in the week, residents of Pu'uwai Momi came together to search for one of their own. They made, by hand, missing child signs from spray-painted bedsheets and hung them outside the complex as a plea to passing drivers: Help Us Find Kahea. They knocked on doors and fanned out into the community hoping to bring her home safely. They cooked food for a family too heartsick to eat and told police everything they could remember about the Tuesday afternoon when Kahealani disappeared.

But now the residents are bringing flowers, candles, lei and teddy bears to the same spot where their missing child posters still hang. With markers they're adding their signatures and farewell messages to the signs: Kahea 4 Ever; Rest in Peace, Beautiful; We Will Miss You Sweetheart. And because police say they believe the motive for Kahealani's apparent murder was the eight gold bracelets that always jangled on her arms, several young girls at the complex said they are no longer wearing their jewelry, and showed off their bare wrists or displayed that they wore only necklaces.

The community held three candlelight vigils — one Friday, yesterday and one last night — to mark the three days Kahealani was missing. They were drawn to the ceremonies on a grassy lawn by the blowing of a conch shell.

Crystal Tadudin, 10, a classmate of Kahealani's at 'Aiea Elementary, said she and other friends were taking fliers with Kahealani's photo and information down to Aloha Stadium Friday evening to try to help with the search. "They came and told us they'd found her so we went home," Crystal said.

Since her friend's disappearance, Crystal has not been allowed to ride her bike to school and has to stay directly in front of her house.

But she smiled at the teddy bears laid at the makeshift memorial. "I know that she likes a lot of teddy bears," Crystal said.

Tiara Barona, 15, an 'Aiea High School sophomore and a friend of the family, said she planned to go to the heiau at 'Aiea Loop Trail to pay her respects to Kahealani. Barona and friends searched for the missing girl in 'Ewa Beach and other areas but never thought to go to the hiking trail.

"She was so quiet. She doesn't even talk to nobody," Barona said. "She's a straight-A student. I can't believe she's gone. She was supposed to go to Kamehameha. Her mom said she would be something."

Several adults at the complex said that people have kept a close watch over their children in the past week, retrieving them from the school bus stop and watching them play outside.

"The kids don't go too far from us," said Jane Gavin, who acts as a kind of second mother to Lehua Tumbaga, Kahealani's mom. Gavin said she has been watching over several children in the family since Kahealani's disappearance. "They're even doing a bit more than I would like now," Gavin said, as Kahealani's cousins relit the candles at the memorial.

The faculty at 'Aiea Elementary gathered yesterday to prepare for the emotional fallout and distress their students will be feeling tomorrow at school. The school last gathered in an assembly Friday afternoon, before Kahealani's body was discovered, to hold a moment of silence and tie yellow ribbons outside in signs of hope and waiting.

Many of Kahealani's classmates from 'Aiea Elementary live in the complex where Kahealani was last seen.

Because they see each other all day long at the small, 400-student elementary campus, and then in the evenings and on weekends at home, most students knew Kahealani and her family well, said school counselor John Erickson.

"She has lots of close friends here," Erickson said. "A lot of the kids call her their cousin, whether it's technically true or not. Everyone knows everyone. Coming from a tough environment, these are good kids."

A fund has been started to help the Indreginal family pay for the funeral and other living expenses. Donations can be made at any Bank of Hawai'i branch to the Friends of Kahealani Indreginal.

Reach Jennifer Hiller at jhiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.