The disturbing disappearance of Daylenn Pua from Hawaii’s Stairway To Heaven walkway
August 15, 2021
DAYLENN MOKE PUA DISAPPEARED FEBRUARY 27, 2015, HAIKU STAIRS, WAIANAE, HAWAII
18-year-old, Daylenn “Moke” Pua went missing on February 27, 2015, when he was last seen boarding a bus in Waianae, Oahu in Hawaii. He was visiting Oahu from the Big Island and he told his grandmother that he planned to hike the banned area called the Haiku Stairs, also known as the “Stairway to Heaven”, against her advice.
Moke posted a series of pictures on social media from his phone during his hike and one picture showing a mysterious man stood out. He never returned from the Stairs. Was the mystery man responsible, did he fall to his death on the dangerous steps or did something else happen that day?
No sign of Daylenn “Moke” Pua has been found in the six years since his disappearance.
What are the Haiku Stairs?
The Haʻikū Stairs, also known as the “Stairway to Heaven”, is a steep, 3,922 step steel structure that provided access on foot to former U.S. Navy communication facilities on the island of Oʻahu in Hawaii. The pathway spans the Oahu's Ko'olau mountain range and there are views from the top to Kaneohe as well as Kaneohe Bay.
In 1942, contractors for the U.S. Navy began construction of the Haʻikū Radio Station, a top-secret facility that was to be used to transmit radio signals to Navy ships that were then operating throughout the Pacific. In order to obtain the necessary height for the antennae, the Navy stretched them across the valley. Some remnant parts of the wooden ladder may still be seen beside the metal steps. The radio station was commissioned in 1943.
The Naval base was decommissioned in the 1950s and the U.S. Coast Guard used the site for an Omega Navigation System station. In the mid-1950s, the wooden stairs were replaced by sections of metal steps and ramps and the station and trail were officially closed to the public in 1987.
The disappearance of Daylenn Pua
Moke was visiting his grandmother, Martha Bear, in Waianae from the Big Island. He was a senior at Ke Kula ‘O Ehunuikaimalino, a Hawaiian immersion school in Kealakekua.
He was interested in hiking up the Stairway to Heaven, and Martha told her grandson that it was closed down, and authorities were not letting anybody climb that mountain.
On Friday morning, February 27, 2015, Pua left his grandmother’s home and boarded a bus from Waianae, Oahu never to return. He was wearing a white long-sleeved t-shirt, black surf shorts, slippers, and carrying a red backpack.
Late that day, he was reported missing by his grandmother when he failed to come home.
The mystery man
Honolulu police said Pua texted pictures of himself indicating he was on the trail of the Haiku Stairs at around 11.00 am despite what he’d told his grandmother. He hasn’t been seen or heard from since.
The family extensively studied these pictures looking for clues and they found a man, barely visible in the background, lurking in the bushes in one of Pua’s pictures. They believed perhaps the mysterious man was following Pua.
Who was this man? Was he just relieving himself in the bushes? Did he ever realize he was not alone on the mountain? Why hasn't he come forward (some accounts say yes, but this is unconfirmed by the authorities)? Did he not want to admit to climbing what is technically an illegal trail?
The search for Daylenn Pua
The search effort involved the fire department, local volunteers, drone operators, and even the U.S. Navy.
On the Monday following the disappearance, two hikers reported hearing cries for help, extending the fire department’s search into Tuesday, March 3, 2015, when the official search was suspended at 4.44 pm. Relatives and local volunteers continued to comb the area for any signs. But nothing was found.
Moke Pua remains missing.
The disturbing disappearance of Daylenn Pua from Hawaii’s Stairway To Heaven walkway — StrangeOutdoors.com