The city medical examiner is working to identify a man whose decomposed and partially burned body was found last night near Kea'au Beach Park.

A man called Wai'anae district police about 7 p.m. after he discovered the body near the bushes on the makai side of Farrington Highway, about one-fifth of a mile west of the park.

Homicide detectives have been assigned because the body had been burned. Police are awaiting more identifying information to link the body with a missing persons report, said Officer Joe Self of the missing persons detail.

The examination at the morgue will rely on dental records for identification of the body, which is reduced to skeletal remains in some areas, said Susan Siu, the medical examiners' lead investigator.

Ka'u house fire called 'suspicious'

Big Island fire investigators said the cause of a Ka'u house fire last night is suspicious but could not release further information this morning.

Firefighters responded to a 5:41 p.m. alarm at 92-8811 Hawai'i Blvd., a two-bedroom home in the Hawaiian Ocean View Estates subdivision.

Nobody was home when the fire broke out, officials said. A live electric wire was down across the road, which kept traffic blocked off from the area, but the preliminary investigation has eliminated electricity as a cause of the fire, officials said.

The fire was extinguished at 6:07 p.m. The house was destroyed, said officials, who estimated losses at $100,000.

Fuel spill shuts street in Kalihi

Three fire companies were summoned this morning to mop up a fuel spill that closed Bannister Street in Kalihi for more than an hour.

Police called for Honolulu Fire Department help about 9:15 a.m., said fire Capt. Richard Soo, after finding the spill along Bannister Street, stretching from North King Street to Dillingham Boulevard.

The spill leaked from a Horizon Waste Hawaii truck that had picked up trash from dumpsters in the area, Soo said. One of the dumpsters apparently contained crankcase motor oil that someone had dumped, he said.

Five Horizon crew members also helped with the cleanup, he said.

Robbery suspect taken into custody

Police arrested a man this morning at the Waikiki Trade Center on suspicion of robbing a Japanese tourist.

The suspect allegedly approached the man at the intersection of Kalakaua and Royal Hawaiian avenues, punched him and took his wallet about 2:30 a.m.

He fled, but the male victim flagged down a nearby police officer, who caught the suspect a few minutes later. The suspect faces possible second-degree robbery charges.

Man dies from injuries in accident

A 33-year-old Honolulu man died at The Queen's Medical Center yesterday after a failed attempt about 4 p.m. Sunday to jump from a rooftop to a pool.

The city medical examiner identified him as Michael Bugdin and said he died after a 35-foot fall to the cement pool deck. Police said the accident happened at the Hawaii Tennis Academy, formerly known as the Maunalua Bay Club, at 5275 Kalaniana'ole Highway.

Maui police seek missing woman

Maui police are looking for a California woman visiting Hawai'i friends who have reported her missing since April 21.

Priscilla Martinez has been missing since April 21. Photo courtesy Maui Police Department

Priscilla Martinez, 54, was last seen at Honokowai Beach, near the Maui Kai Apartments where she was staying with a friend, said Lt. Cal Shinyama of the Maui police missing persons detail.

She is described as 5 feet 10 inches tall, 190 to 200 pounds, with brown eyes and brown, shoulder-length wavy hair.

Martinez failed to return to her friend's apartment and may have taken snorkeling and camping equipment with her, Shinyama said.