A 70-year-old man from Oahu went missing for over 24 hours in the Big Island's Volcano area, prompting an extensive search that involved multiple agencies.
The man, identified as David Arai, was last seen on October 19, and a search effort was launched after he was reported missing at 12:16 p.m. that day. Arai's son stated that his father was familiar with the area's hiking trails and often hiked alone.
Hawaii Island police and National Park personnel conducted a ground search, while a Hawaii Fire Department helicopter assisted from above. A K-9 unit, consisting of a 3-year-old Labrador retriever named Trina and her handler, Officer Christopher Ross, also joined the search. Trina is a specially trained dog that helps locate missing people by scent.
At around 7:30 p.m. on October 20, Trina located Arai on a trail roughly 2 miles from where his rental car had been found. Arai was lying on his back in bushes just off the trail and was safely carried back to the trailhead. He was then transported to Hilo Benioff Medical Center for medical treatment due to dehydration and exposure.
This was the second time in two months that Trina had located a missing person, according to police. Trina is trained to help locate missing children and endangered adults throughout Hawaii.
NTC Report coverage is based on reporting from the original publisher.
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