Police find convicts' trail in rugged Hau'ula valley
By Walter Wright and Zenaida Serrano Espanol
Advertiser Staff Writers
HAU'ULA — Police confirmed yesterday that searchers had found evidence near a stream in Hau'ula where they believe three Halawa prison escapees may have stayed.
Police Lt. Bill Kato said the site was discovered Monday deep in the valley, and it appeared someone was sleeping there. No bottles or food were found, he said, but police did see footprints.
Kato said he believed that the three escapees had been at the site, though he did not elaborate on what other evidence might have been found. He would not comment on reports that a diary or document belonging to one of the inmates had been found along the trail.
Rain yesterday hampered the search for Albert Batalona, Warren Elicker and David Scribner, who escaped from the high-security Halawa Correctional Facility early Friday. Police, the state sheriff's office and other agencies have focused their search in Hau'ula since Sunday, when a pig farmer reported seeing at least two of the men in the valley.
Kato said yesterday he was "fairly confident" the escapees were still in the valley. If they are in the hills, he said, "they must be tired and hungry and miserable.
"They can't have carried much food up there in the first place, although there are a lot of fruit, mangoes. But they must be feeling uncomfortable."
Kato added that he doubted the escapees were receiving help. He said authorities have the area surrounded and they would "undoubtedly see" anyone trying to go into the trails.
The area where the search is being conducted is narrow, steep and thick with foliage, making it difficult for helicopter searchers to see activity on the ground. When it rains, that part of the valley floods.
Experts said the mountainous region of Hau'ula where the search is under way is treacherous, with trails that could lead to central O'ahu and the North Shore.
Albert Batalona
Warren Elicker
David Scribner
"It's possible that if these guys knew the mountain trails, they could emerge in Pupukea, and they could emerge in Wahiawa," said Dayle Turner, an experienced hiker and president of the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club. "There are trails that connect."
But it would be a tough hike.
"It could be rugged terrain," said Aaron Lowe, O'ahu trails and access specialist with Na Ala Hele, a program of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources' Forestry and Wildlife Division. "In other words, there's steep, steep sections and thick, thick vegetation."
Turner said trails on the slopes of Hau'ula can be difficult for inexperienced hikers to negotiate. He and other members of the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club hike the Hau'ula Loop Trail and offshoots several times a year, he said.
The coastal community has three main trails at the base of the Ko'olau mountain range: Hau'ula Loop Trail, a 2.5-mile novice hike that reaches an elevation of 700 feet; Ma'akua Gulch Trail, a 3-mile intermediate hike that reaches 900 feet; and Ma'akua Ridge Trail, a 2.5-mile novice-to-intermediate hike that reaches 800 feet.
In response to search efforts, the state Monday closed the Hau'ula Loop Trail, Ma'akua Ridge Trail and nearby Kaipapa'u Forest Reserve until further notice. The Ma'akua Gulch Trail has been closed since shortly after the Sacred Falls rockslide in 1999.
Survival off the trail depends on several factors, Lowe said, including available food and water; exposure and tolerance to elements such as rain, sun and cold; and experience or knowledge of the area and its resources.
"There's strawberry guavas they could eat, and there's water from a stream they could drink," Turner said. "So if they could survive off that, it could be for a long time."
The areas surrounding the Hau'ula trails have large groves of Christmas berry, as well as sections of ironwood, eucalyptus and Cook Island pines, Lowe said. Native plant species include lama, alahe'e, 'ohi'a, ho'awa, 'akia and 'a'ali'i.
There are also mongooses and wild pigs, "but that's pretty much it," Lowe said. "I'm not sure of the populations of native birds in that area."
Temperatures in the upslopes of Hau'ula can range between 65 and 75 degrees, said Roy Matsuda, lead forecaster with the National Weather Service.
"The peaks just adjacent to Hau'ula valley, the median rainfall there is in excess of 200 inches annually," Matsuda said, which makes it the wettest portion of the Ko'olau range. The area is susceptible to heavy rains and small stream flooding, he said.
Yesterday morning, Police Chief Lee Donohue visited Hau'ula Elementary School, where crews involved in the search are being fed by the community. Donohue said he was concerned for his officers and others because the escapees are believed to be armed.
"I'm concerned about the terrain and safety of officers," he said.
As for the escapees, "the best-case scenario is that they'll get tired and give up, but we're prepared to go in and get them."
The search is expected to resume today.
Staff writers Curtis Lum and Rod Ohira contributed to this report.
