And police said they have been saturated with tips from the public about possible suspects in the case.

"It could have happened anywhere," said Anne Fogel, of Santa Cruz, Calif. Her 10-year-old daughter, Libby, was in the van with an adult male tourist and two other girls when a stranger got behind the wheel and took off about 6:45 a.m.

The Dolphin Excursions van had pulled into Kahe Point Beach Park for what was supposed to have been a very brief stop to scan ocean waters for signs of whales or porpoises.

The man who stole the van stopped to let the passengers out about a mile from the beach park after the male tourist, Anthony Lopez of Fort Collins, Colo., pleaded with the carjacker to let them go.

The suspects Police released sketches and descriptions of two men involved in Tuesday's tour-van hijacking. The man who took the van (sketch on top) was described as in his mid-30s, 5 feet 8, with a medium build. The man who drove the getaway car was described as in his 30s, 5-10 and muscular. They fled in a blue compact car, possibly a Chevrolet, with red fenders. The license plate contained the letters and numbers GV and 26. Police ask that people with information call detective Bert Soria at 529-3357 or CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or *CRIME on a cell phone.

Fogel and Sandra Cherk, whose 10-year-old daughter, Paige, and 9-year-old niece, Maya, were in the van when it was taken, surmise that the thief didn't even realize some of the passengers were still inside.

"It was still pretty dark and everyone in the van was kind of scrunched down on the seats," Fogel said.

She was stunned when she heard the van take off.

"It's one of those things you hear about happening to other people and you think about putting yourself in their place, but you really can't until it happens to you," Fogel said. "You don't ever want to have those feelings."

Fogel said she worried the van thief might be intent on hurting or molesting her daughter.

Cherk said she spent the longest 15 minutes of her life with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach and having what felt like an out-of-body experience.

"I tried to focus, I kept telling myself, 'They'll be OK.' I tried to be optimistic. Oh, it was terrible. I didn't know what to do.

"You feel so totally helpless. You can't run out on the highway and start looking for them."

Cherk, an artist who works in watercolors and pastels and who makes glass beads, said she was "totally elated" when her daughter and niece returned to the park.

"What a relief. I don't care what they took, as long as everyone was returned unharmed," said Cherk, who lost her wallet and all of her credit cards.

California residents Sandra Cherk and Anne Fogel said they're relieved their daughters and a niece are safe after being hijacked. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

Undeterred by the van incident, the two women and the girls talked with police at the beach park and then continued on to the Wai'anae Small Boat Harbor, where they finally set out on the whale-watching tour they were headed for when the van was taken.

"We were out on the water for about an hour. It was pretty choppy but we actually got to see some whales," Fogel said.

"This kind of thing could have happened in Santa Cruz. We were actually robbed in Italy several years ago. And now that my daughter has been kidnapped once, it's not likely to happen again," Fogel said.

She said the Doubletree Alana Hotel in Waikiki where the group is staying "has been wonderful."

"They bought us dinner (Tuesday) night and told us they would take care of the room if we needed to extend our stay," Fogel said.

They were originally scheduled to leave yesterday but extended their stay until tomorrow, said Jessica Lani Rich, president of the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawai'i.

Cherk said if the girls were traumatized by what happened, they don't seem to be showing it.

"They were talking about it this morning and, of course, they were glued to the TV last night," watching news accounts of what happened.

"They didn't seem to have any trouble sleeping last night, they fell asleep with their clothes on, but we'd been up since 5 a.m.," Cherk said.

Fogel said her daughter has "talked about what happened a lot."

"I hope that's helping her achieve some kind of closure. Of course, closure for me will come when they arrest the people responsible," Fogel said.

Detective Bert Soria said the public has flooded his office with tips about the two men who were involved in the robbery and kidnapping.

"Those tips have been based almost entirely on the composite sketches we have been circulating," Soria said. "The leads have been pouring in from all parts of the island. Right now, we are looking for some consistency in what we are hearing from people in terms of hearing the same names repeated from multiple sources," Soria said.

Investigators have been identifying possible suspects while continuing to receive more tips from the public, Soria said.