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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 11:47 a.m., Tuesday, November 18, 2003

Body found identified as 75-year-old woman

By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer

The body of a woman found in Wai'anae on Saturday was identified today as 75-year-old Helen Hun, who had been missing since Nov. 3.

The city’s Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kanthi von Guenthner said Hun was identified by dental records and surgical scars.

She said that there were no initial signs of foul play. A cause of death has not yet been determined.

The announcement ends more than two weeks of frustrating uncertainty for Hun’s family, who searched the Leeward Coast from Yokohama Bay to Nanakuli.

Family members could not be reached for comment this morning.

On Saturday, about 150 people gathered at Poka'i Bay, formed search teams and fanned out across the Wai'anae Coast in a

citizen/police effort aimed at finding Hun, who suffered from dementia.

At the same time, two young boys chasing chickens stumbled across the body of a woman in the underbrush near Ma'ili'ili Stream and Pa'akea Road — less than a half-mile from Hun’s Alapaki Street home.

The body was about 5-feet 6-inches to 5-feet 8-inches and weighed between 130 and 150 pounds, according to police.

It had been exposed to the elements for many days, making it difficult for examiners to determine a cause of death.

At the scene Saturday, homicide Lt. Bill Kato of the Honolulu Police Department said officers were treating the case as a "suspicious unattended death."

Police said the last time Hun was seen alive by a credible witness was Nov. 4. Family members had said that Hun had dealt with dementia for the past four to five years. They said she became easily confused and believed that her parents were still alive.

Advertiser staff writer Will Hoover contributed to this report. Reach Peter Boylan at 535-8110 or pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.