LIHU‘E — About a dozen partially decayed teeth were discovered near the Kalalau Trail and turned in to the Kaua‘i Police Department earlier this month.
The finding was forwarded to the KPD Investigative Services Bureau, which will contact an expert to determine whether they are human.
“The first step is animal or human,” said Assistant Chief Kalani Ke. “We get a lot of sightings of bones and stuff that are actually animals. It’s rare that it is actually a human.”
The individuals who discovered the teeth, who requested to remain anonymous, showed them to The Garden Island earlier this month. Similar in size and shape to those of a human, some were fully intact while others had decomposed to the point that they had broken into smaller pieces.
If the teeth are determined to be human, KPD will attempt to collect DNA and identify their owner. Ke reported Friday that the teeth were currently under investigation on O‘ahu.
The remote Kalalau Valley has played a role in several missing persons cases. Jesse Pinegar, a 22-year-old Utah man, was last seen camping there in 2008, and 24-year-old Daniel Marks was last seen at a lookout there in 2005.
A car that may have been rented by 47-year-old Bradford Turek was found parked near Ke‘e Beach in 2004 after his disappearance in 2004. Other evidence showed that he may have hiked to the Hanakapi‘ai Stream before he went missing.
The body of 43-year-old Sean Michael Rollnick was discovered there in 2016, after he appeared to have fallen off a cliff.
KPD said they would provide an update on the investigation within two weeks.
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Guthrie Scrimgeour, reporter, can be reached at 808-647-0329 or gscrimgeour@thegardenisland.com.
