Posted on: Friday, February 15, 2002

Homeless man poses a mystery in death

By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer

The man who died Dec. 10 carried this photo of himself.

City medical examiners are trying to identify a homeless man who died at Pali Momi Medical Center Dec. 10 and whose fingerprints appear in no available local or national databases.

However, the man was carrying a photo of himself in a trash bag containing his possessions, said Susan Siu, chief investigator.

The man was carrying banking records for a Bank of Hawaii account holder, Siu said, but account activity had continued after the man's death; also, she said, he appeared to be too old for the birthdate they listed, Siu said.

He also had material in Spanish, a printed cartoon as well as a hand-written note, she added, but they only contained a few words and communicated only that he may speak Spanish.

"I don't know anything about him," she said. "He is a true John Doe."

Siu cited a Dec. 10 police report that said a patrol officer found the man lying in a grassy area makai of the medical center and approached him. The man declined emergency medical services, according to the report, and the ambulance was called off. But a short time later he was found unresponsive and was taken to the hospital, where he died, according to the report.

Siu said the Institute for Human Services was unable to identify him, although some outreach workers assisting the homeless have recognized his face.

Anyone with information should call the Office of the Medical Examiner at 527-6777.