Police Beat

Advertiser Staff

Guard personnel heading overseas

A group of Hawai'i Air National Guard personnel are being taken off homeland defense duty and are being sent overseas to take part in Operation Enduring Freedom.

Most of the 39 members of the 154th Security Forces Squadron heading for the overseas duty were called up following Sept. 11 to provide supplemental security for units like the 15th Air Base Wing at Hickam Air Force Base, said Guard spokesman Maj. Chuck Anthony.

Anthony could only say the squadron members will be under the control of Central Command, which includes North Africa, the Middle East and parts of central Asia.

"Just to put this in perspective, right now, 19,000 airmen are in that region — in the Middle East (region) — of which about 25 percent are members of the Air National Guard from around the country," Anthony said.

"This is a continuing operation, and members of the Air National Guard are part of that total force. You can't sustain these operations for any length of time without the Air National Guard and also Air Force reserves."

The Air Guard personnel will leave within the next few weeks.

Search for lost boater called off

The Coast Guard yesterday said it has suspended its search for lost boater Mark Brewer, 47, after conducting a three-day search. The search was suspended at 3 p.m. yesterday.

Brewer, a Kaua'i resident, left Nawiliwili Harbor in Kauai at 1 p.m. Friday enroute to Ko Olina Harbor where he was scheduled to arrive at 8 p.m.

Brewer apparently was thrown or fell from his power catamaran Friday afternoon or evening while bringing it alone across the Ka'ie'ie Waho Channel between Kaua'i and O'ahu.

The Coast Guard said the search covered more than 10,350 square miles and involved two Coast Guard Patrol Boats, multiple flights by Coast Guard HH-65, C-130 Hercules, Coast Guard Auxiliary aircraft and Navy P-3.

The Coast Guard said it has spent more than $700,000 on the search.

HPD officers, workers promoted

The Honolulu Police Department promoted five police officers and two civilian employees at a ceremony held yesterday at police headquarters.

Capt. Douglas Miller has been promoted to major and assigned to the Legislative Liaison Office. Capt. Raymond Ancheta will take over Miller's past post as second in command of the Specialized Services Division.

Other promotions:

• Lt. Evan Ching, formerly of the Criminal Investigation Division, is now a captain and will head the receiving desk at the Kapolei station.
• Sgt. Britt Nishijo and Officer Alan Togami have been promoted to lieutenant and detective, respectively, and are assigned to CID.
• Officer Robert Natividad's new rank is Metropolitan Police Officer II. He is assigned to District 6 (Waikiki).
• Lloyd Josey Jr. (Police Documents Examiner V) and Wayne Kimoto (Criminalist 3) have been promoted and now are forensic lab supervisors.
  
  
  

Man dies after paraglider mishap

A 43-year-old man died yesterday afternoon in a paraglider accident on the Big Island.

The man had taken off from a hillside above Captain Cook and landed hard on a rocky hillside about a half-mile away, said fire Capt. Charles Cope. The man got up, complained of pain in the right side of his chest and collapsed.

When firefighters arrived about 2 p.m., bystanders had already begun CPR. The man never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead at Kona Hospital.

Dog stolen, rabbit mauled at shelter

PU'UNENE, Maui — The Maui Humane Society is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of whoever stole a dog from the animal shelter and mutilated a rabbit.

The theft occurred between 6 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. Sunday when someone scaled the fence at the Pu'unene animal shelter and cut the chain on a kennel containing a female Labrador-mix.

The dog was in good health when it was picked up on Mission Street in Wailuku.

The same person who took the dog from the kennel is believed to have mutilated one of the shelter's rabbits. The animal was barely alive when it was found Sunday in its cage, and had to be destroyed.

Call the Maui Humane Society at 877-3680.