LIHU'E, Kaua'i — A multi-agency "rapid response team" set 30 to 40 traps along fencing at the Lihu'e Airport yesterday after a visitor from California reported seeing a 4-foot-long brown snake near the airport entrance.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources and the state Department of Agriculture are coordinating the team, made up of members of federal and state agencies and community representatives.

DLNR chairman Peter Young said Monday's snake-sighting report is being viewed as credible.

A 16-year-old girl told her parents that she had seen a snake, and when her mother learned later that evening that there are no snakes in Hawai'i, she notified staff at the hotel where they are staying.

The rapid-response team on Wednesday searched the area. Brush and grass were cleared to allow better access, and low-lying gutters and drains were flushed, but the illegal creature remained on the loose.

Snake sightings can be reported to the Pest Hotline, 586-PEST (7378). Captive snakes can be surrendered to the Department of Agriculture under the state's amnesty program.