WAILUA — A woman was found dead Thursday on a beach behind the Wailua Golf Course, and police believe she may have been murdered.
The body of the woman, whose identity has not yet been released, was discovered at around 6 a.m. by someone walking along the shoreline in an area known as Kitchens, according to police.
A Kauai Police Department press release Thursday morning said that detectives were investigating an “unattended death,” but a county spokesperson later confirmed police are investigating a potential homicide.
The spokesperson could not answer any further questions regarding the case, and few details have emerged about the woman or the circumstances surrounding her death.
By noon, the scene at the Wailua Golf Course was relatively subdued — several KPD detectives milled around and a crew of firemen were preparing to return to the station. But a few golf course employees said the place was buzzing with police activity by the time they showed up for their morning shift around 6.
Three bystanders who were on the scene that morning — all of whom preferred to remain anonymous — said police were inspecting a truck that had been stuck in the sand and abandoned not far from where the woman’s body was found.
Two of the observers, who gave independent accounts, said the truck was a Toyota 4Runner. One person said the truck was green. Another man, who said he watched police tow the vehicle out of the sand at around 11:30 a.m., described the color as blue and said it looked like a model built in the late 1990s.
Anyone with information on this incident is urged to call Bryson Ponce, assistant chief of the Investigative Services Bureau, at 241-1681, or dispatch at 241-1711.
Those wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers Kauai at 246-8300.
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Caleb Loehrer, staff writer, can be reached at 245-0441 or cloehrer@thegardenisland.com.
