But Tuesday, the winner of the 1998 Miss Hawai'i USA pageant and her husband, John Limahai Jr., were arrested in a crystal methamphetamine raid by Honolulu police.

Hercules was charged yesterday with promoting dangerous drugs in the second degree, a Class B felony, punishable by up to 10 years in jail, and possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class C felony that carries a possible five-year sentence. Bail was set at $15,000.

Limahai was charged with promoting a dangerous drug in the third degree, a Class C felony punishable by five years in jail; and possession of drug paraphernalia. His bail was set at $25,000 because he was arrested while out on bail for an unrelated offense.

"You think of a beauty queen, you think of success," said Honolulu Police Department Lt. John McCarthy. "You have someone who had success handed to them, and she crashed."

The arrest of the former Miss Hawaii USA comes amid what has been called an ice epidemic, with a rising number of deaths and criminal cases related to the drug. The devastating effects of ice on families has spurred whole communities to try to bring the problem under control.

Law enforcement officials and community activists stress that the problem has gotten worse, and that increased community education and awareness are needed.

Police said Tuesday's arrest appeared to be the low point of a downward spiral for Hercules, whom they said had been using ice for more than three years. She was arrested with roughly a quarter ounce of the drug, which carries a street value of more than $1,000, police said.

Before her arrest, Hercules, who celebrated her 30th birthday yesterday, was a target of a three-month investigation by crime-reduction officers in Kailua. Police said Hercules had graduated only recently from ice user to ice dealer, and that she was known to patrol officers in the area.

One of her teachers from her freshman year of high school expressed shock yesterday and said she was saddened by the news of Hercules' arrest.

Karen Kanda, now vice principal of Kalaheo High School, said Hercules was a model student, someone the school had held up as an example of what focus and hard work could get you.

In August 1998, Hercules and former Kalaheo and University of Hawai'i basketball star Alika Smith addressed the incoming freshman class.

Kanda said Hercules was an excellent student with good grades, earning an academic scholarship to attend Dominican University in San Rafael, Calif.

"I was devastated by the news; she was really a girl with potential," Kanda said. "She was a young lady who was tall, thin, beautiful, focused, conscientious; what can I say? We are disappointed at what happened in her life, because she has not actualized her potential for success."

Hercules was once an accomplished hula dancer and popular in school, Kanda said.

Drug-prevention advocates said yesterday the arrest shows how indiscriminate and pervasive ice use is.

Jeff Mueller, co-producer with Edgy Lee of "Life or Meth: Hawai'i's Youth," which will be simulcast on all major networks Dec. 7, said ice knows no socio-economic boundaries and that people who pick up the drug never realize what they are getting into.

"This is an example of someone who picked the ice pipe up, and however many years later is involved in drug trafficking," Mueller said. "They always think, 'I can handle, I can stay under the radar,' and then the next thing you know you're being prosecuted and you're a big blip on the radar."

Alan Shinn, executive director of the Coalition for a Drug Free Hawai'i, said stemming the spread of ice use requires education as a part of a multifaceted approach rooted at the community level.

"It is so pervasive, and it is not getting any better," Shinn said. "I think it's really sad for that to happen, but it shows that it can happen to anybody. And that shows the vulnerability of people using ice. It affects the poorest of the poor and the richest of the rich."

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

Correction: Tiffini Hercules earned an academic scholarship to attend Dominican University in San Rafael, Calif. A previous version of this story contained incorrect information.