Posted on: Friday, May 17, 2002

Men's disappearance puzzles police

By Hugh Clark
Advertiser Big Island Bureau

Toole: Was in accident with friend before they vanished

Matheson: Puna man last seen May 8 with friend

Mcgovern: May have information about case

HILO, Hawai'i — Big Island police remained mystified over the disappearance of two men who have been missing since a May 8 automobile accident near South Point.

Cassidy M. Toole, 20, of the Fern Acres subdivision in mauka Puna, and his housemate, Wesley Alan Matheson, also 20, were riding in a 2001 black Honda Civic LX when the two-door sedan ran off the road and into a ditch about 7 a.m. near the 70-mile marker of Mamalahoa Highway.

The two apparently left the car in the ditch and were last seen being picked up by a red sedan as they hitchhiked along the highway. Neither man has been seen since.

Police Cmdr. Larry Weber of Ka'u said that because the men were not believed to have been seriously injured in the one-car accident, officers are puzzled why they left the scene so quickly and never returned to claim the vehicle.

In the days following the crash, the Honda was stripped of its tires, rims, seats, stereo and battery.

Along with the two missing men, police are seeking information about a third man identified as John McGovern, 18, of Hawaiian Acres, who was last seen in Kona. Police believe that McGovern may have information about what happened to Toole and Matheson.

Toole is described as 6 feet 1 and 152 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes.

Matheson is 5 feet 7 and 128 pounds, with hazel eyes and blond hair worn in dreadlocks. He has a large tattoo of his last name on his back and a tattoo of a mermaid and fairies on one of his shoulders.

McGovern is 6 feet tall, weighs about 215 pounds and has brown hair and eyes.

Anyone with information should call detective Richard Miyamoto of the Hilo Criminal Investigation Section at (808) 961-2379, Puna Patrol at (808) 966-5835, Ka'u Patrol at (808) 939-2520, the police nonemergency line at (808) 935-3311, or CrimeStoppers at (808) 961-8300 in Hilo or (808) 329-8181 in Kona.