LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i Police Department reported Friday that teeth found near Kalalau Trail last month are from a human.
The question now is, were the teeth part of an ancient burial, or are they related to a modern missing person case?
“If deemed ancient Hawaiian, then a Kaua‘i archaeologist will be contacted who will work with Hawaiian burial council for final disposition of teeth,” said KPD Investigative Services Bureau Assistant Chief Bryson Ponce.
“If deemed modern, then we need to carbon fiber date, confirm exact age of teeth, try to determine gender, and best case scenario be able to obtain a DNA profile, which is a long shot,” said Ponce.
He reported that KPD may then review open missing persons cases from the time period the teeth are found to belong.
Over the last 45 years, there have been more than 80 unsolved missing persons cases on Kaua‘i, including several with ties to the remote Kalalau Valley near the site of the discovery.
Jesse Pinegar, a 22-year-old Utah man, was last seen camping there in 2008. The area was also 24-year-old Daniel Marks’s last reported location before he disappeared 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 he went missing in 2004, and evidence showed that he may have hiked to the Hanakapi‘ai Stream before his disappearance. The body of 43-year-old Sean Michael Rollnick was discovered there in 2016, after he appeared to have fallen off a cliff.
The individuals who discovered the dozen or so teeth, who requested to remain anonymous, showed them to The Garden Island in January. The individual reported there were no other skeletal remains nearby.
The teeth were mostly brown in color. Some were fully intact while others had decomposed and fractured into smaller pieces.
Teeth, which are stronger than bones, can last much longer than the rest of the body after death. One 2008 Australian Broadcasting Company article quoted an expert, who reported teeth can last for tens of thousands of years depending on the conditions in which they are kept.
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Guthrie Scrimgeour, reporter, can be reached at 808-647-0329 or gscrimgeour@thegardenisland.com.
