Most of kumu hula's stolen jewelry recovered

By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer

All the kumu hula could do Wednesday was smile when police returned almost 150 pieces of heirloom jewelry that had been stolen from her home Sept. 2.

Aloha Dalire, the first winner of the Ms. Aloha Hula competition, was able to identify her items on a recently created HPD Web site that displays recovered stolen property, allowing people the opportunity to claim their property.

"It feels great to get my stuff back," Dalire said. "I was devastated when I learned it was stolen."

More than $45,000 worth of jewelry was stolen from Dalire's house in Kane'ohe on Sept. 2, when Dalire was traveling on the Mainland. Although she got back most of her jewelry, Dalire said some items remain missing.

Police are still investigating the theft and have made no arrests.

The items were part of a larger haul of recovered stolen goods seized during a series of drug raids by Honolulu police and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Items recovered from the raids are posted, along with hundreds of other stolen goods, on an HPD Web site, www.honolulupd.org, that was established Dec. 1.

The items will be available for viewing on the Web site through Jan. 31, 2004.

All persons hoping to claim a recovered stolen item must have filed a police report prior to Sept. 28.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8110.