Luis Soltren, the 30-year friend of a 51-year-old Kaua‘i resident who has been missing since May, is looking to the Filipino community to help him find answers to the whereabouts of the man, John Elwin. The request comes after months
Luis Soltren, the 30-year friend of a 51-year-old Kaua‘i resident who has been missing since May, is looking to the Filipino community to help him find answers to the whereabouts of the man, John Elwin.
The request comes after months of unraveling a story that involves allegations of identity theft, forgery and money laundering.
Henry Calucag, also known as Hank Jacinto, was the last reported person to have been with Elwin in the Philippines earlier this summer. Land and a car belonging to Elwin were transferred into Jacinto’s name, for which Jacinto faces first-degree theft and second-degree forgery charges, according to court documents. Jacinto was convicted of federal bank fraud 10 years ago.
A new possible break in the case has Soltren hoping the abundance of community members with Filipino contacts will ultimately help reunite him with his friend.
A Web site which solicits support for Filipino orphans, www.webionic.com, names Hank Jacinto as the president of the Philippine Mission Foundation.
Several other Web sites, including www.philasiantitleandescrow.com, www.pronetworkcenter.com and www.arkispecs.com, offer the same mailing addresses as the Philippine Mission Foundation, one of which is in Honolulu and the other of which is in Manila.
No charges of money laundering through any of the Web sites have been filed against Jacinto.
Jacinto’s attorney Jeff Hawk did not return several phone calls from The Garden Island.
Soltren is asking residents with Filipino contacts to seek out information about Elwin abroad.
“If people could rip out a picture of him in the newspaper and mail it to their family members in the Philippines to see if anybody knows something, that would help us,” Soltren said.
Getting information overseas could help motivate Filipino law enforcement, John’s brother Christopher Elwin said.
Christopher and John’s girlfriend, Kirsten Flood, have exhausted themselves working alongside Soltren and the Kaua‘i Police Department for more than four months to find answers to what happened to John and to retrieve his property, Soltren said.
Reaching out to the Filipino community is just another way to bring a light to the end of the tunnel, he said.
In the meantime, Soltren will continue to maintain his own contracting business, manage Elwin’s estate, collect Elwin’s belongings and be a family friend.
“I’m just trying to do the best I can to take care of things,” Soltren said.
On Saturday, Soltren went to the Waimanalo polo field to retrieve six horses he said belong to Elwin. Soltren plans to go back to retrieve saddles and other personal property over time, he said.
“This guy laid claim to John’s property — land, horses — and that we were able to obtain John’s horses, which will soon be on Kaua‘i, shows how we are going step-by-step in securing John’s estate,” he said.
Above all, however, the most important task is to find Elwin, he said.
“The focus is on finding John and letting the police continue to do their work. We’re very confident in them and that’s why were reaching out to the Filipino community — because they’ll help us use any information to get in the right direction.”
Jacinto was indicted by a grand jury and was charged with first-degree theft and second-degree forgery in Honolulu District Court Friday and released on $50,000 bail. No future court dates have been set.
Christopher Elwin said anyone with law enforcement contacts in the Philippines also could help by having them call the Kaua‘i Police Department at 241-1711.
• Amanda C. Gregg, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext.245) or agregg@kauaipubco.com.
