Kauai Police Department investigators returned to Kalalau Valley via helicopter again yesterday, but were unable to locate either the body of a baby believed to have been delivered stillborn early Sunday morning, or the suspected father of the child. The
Kauai Police Department investigators returned to Kalalau Valley via helicopter again yesterday, but were unable to locate either the body of a baby believed to have been delivered stillborn early Sunday morning, or the suspected father of the child.
The mother of the baby was flown off Kalalau Beach Sunday, taken to Wilcox Memorial Hospital, treated and released, after an SOS signal was seen drawn in the sand on the beach Sunday morning, according to Jenny Fujita, county public information officer.
KPD officers, assisted by state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Conservation & Resources Enforcement officers, searched Monday, and continued searching yesterday, for both the baby and the father of the baby, who according to investigators apparently buried the infant somewhere on the beach or in the valley.
Police want to recover the body of the baby for the purposes of performing an autopsy to determine the cause of death, Fujita said. The baby’s apparent father is wanted for questioning.
The investigation continues today, and no arrests have been made, said Fujita.
The mother of the child has a Kaua’i mailing address, and it is not known why she was in the valley that late in her pregnancy, Fujita said.
The only ways to access the remote beach and valley in Na Pali Coast State Park are via helicopter, boat, or by foot along an 11-mile trail beginning near Ke’e Beach at the end of Kuhio Highway in Ha’ena.
