Missing Girl Update: Search Continues For 6-Year-Old In Hawaii, Hundreds Join Efforts On Day 4
The Hawaiian island of Oahu has been shaken up as the search for a 6-year-old girl Isabella “Ariel” Kula continues onto its fourth day.
Kula’s adoptive parents, Sonny and Lehua, say that she was last seen on Sunday night when she was put to bed in her Waimanalo home. They reported her missing on Monday.
Kula was pulled from school a week before she went missing, as her parents were having her home-schooled, a Department Education representative told Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
There is possible evidence of an abduction. A video was released this week that shows a young girl wandering a street, and later shows the girl accompanied by two adults. The video also shows a car slowly driving up and down the road.
The FBI on Wednesday joined the search efforts. Hundreds of volunteers have also been searching for Ariel.
“We are thankful for the many families and individuals who are helping to search for Isabella, especially the volunteer search captains and their teams. It’s obvious that she comes from a caring family and community, and we are hopeful that we will find her soon and find her safe. At this time, we’re asking neighbors to check their yards and properties for anywhere that a young child might go to or be able to hide. If you have home security video, please check to see if there’s anything that might help us,” Interim Police Chief Rade Vanic said in a statement.
On Wednesday, Melanie Joseph, Kula’s biological mother, thanked volunteers who have gathered at Waimanalo's District Park.
“I just want whoever has her to bring my baby back home.”
The community has been coming together in efforts to find Kula, it was reported that volunteers are wrapping purple ribbons around trees where they have searched to keep track of places covered.
"I don’t know the family but as a mother I know how Hawaii is,” volunteer Shonna Hammoan told KHON 2, a Fox affiliate in Honolulu. "The community always surrounds each other. So I have a 17-year-old and a 21-year-old daughter. I know people would come out and help. So I was compelled to come out and search for her today."
An Amber Alert has not been issued. Investigators “haven’t determined or we don’t have sufficient evidence to show that the child was abducted,” Vanic told the Honolulu Police Commission.
“We are hoping she isn’t in immediate danger,” he added.
Kula's family and the Hawaiian community do not plan on stopping the search.
“We will continue this search as long as we need,” said Jamie Kumai, Ariel’s biological aunt. Kumai flew to the island as soon as she heard her niece went missing.
“We are going to continue until we find her or until we hear anything, and you know, all we could hope for is for the best, pray for the best. We ask if you know something, see something, hear something, say something,” Kumai said.
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