KAILUA-KONA — A Maui woman and Hilo man have turned to social media in hopes of catching a man they believe touched their daughter inappropriately at Hilton Waikoloa Village last week.
Ira Hookano had taken his 11-year-old daughter to the resort with her cousins for spring break. On March 23, his daughter and niece were approached by a stranger while headed to the bathroom in the pool area.
It was at that time the suspect grabbed the girl.
“Thank God she had good reflexes because she was able to get away,” said the victim’s mother Deanna Davis-Alexander.
The 11-year-old hid in the bathroom with her cousin for a period of time. They eventually left and told Hookano.
Maj. Robert Wagner with Hawaii Police confirmed an officer responded. He said a harassment case was made as “no touching occurred in the private area as defined by law.”
Wagner said the victim was touched in the thigh area and reportedly pushed the suspect’s hand away.
“It was by the pool in an open area where people were present. So no reported struggle,” he said.
Wagner added there was no video of the area where the alleged incident happened, but a check for video in other areas was made and security was informed.
Hookano said he walked the whole area and didn’t see anyone that matched the description of the suspect. He reported the incident to security.
“Security was pretty on it,” he said. “They did a check of the property and in an hour or two an officer came and took an initial report. I didn’t get no assistance after that.”
Since the image of the man was still fresh on his daughter’s mind, Hookano asked security about surveillance cameras, believing his daughter would be able to point him out in footage.
Hookano said the security officer told him there were no cameras in the grotto area by the bathrooms and cameras in the surrounding area were broken or not working.
“You’d think a four-star hotel, spending three grand for two nights – you’d think the cameras would work,” he said.
Davis-Alexander said her daughter gave a good description of who approached her but no sketch was offered.
On Monday, Wagner stated it was undetermined if the police would get a sketch artist, but they are considering it.
Not only was the resort not helpful, Davis-Alexander said, no one from hotel management came to check on her daughter after the incident.
“The situation could’ve been handled with much more compassion,” she said.
The parents are still hoping to get any surveillance footage that is available so their daughter can identify who attacked her, but as of Monday afternoon, the resort had not made those videos available.
“She’s definitely suffering from PTSD,” Hookano said. “I’m strong so she stays strong for me and in front of her mom she breaks down.”
Since the young girl has returned to Davis-Alexander on Maui, a sketch was done by a retired Maui police officer, which has been posted on Facebook.
At this point, the parents just want to get the word out their child was attacked and the suspect is still on the loose.
An email for comment regarding the incident and status of the surveillance cameras was sent to media relations at the resort. A Hilton spokesperson responded:
“We care deeply about any situation that involves the safety and security of our guests.
On learning of the allegation, our security team immediately engaged local law enforcement, who have taken the lead on the investigation.
For many reasons, including guest privacy and respect for law enforcement’s process, we cannot comment publicly on a situation involving specific guests.
We will continue to support the law enforcement investigation in any way we can.”
The suspect is described as a man in his late 20s or early 30s with a thin face and thin build with a little belly. He has bushy blonde eyebrows, blonde thin wavy hair with a middle part. He’s described to have small lips and mouth, small green eyes, drawn-in cheeks and small ears.