A 34-year-old man his father describes as a disabled, highly decorated Army combat veteran living in Puna has been reported missing.
Geff Gravitt said his son, Kelly Gravitt, is “a Purple Heart recipient, lots of medals” who served with the 82nd Airborne Division. He said his son has been in Hawaii for about a year-and-a-half.
“He was blown up in Afghanistan in 2010,” the elder Gravitt said.
“He was the only survivor of an (improvised explosive device) explosion. He has (post-traumatic stress disorder) issues and pain issues.” He added his son also suffered a traumatic brain injury.
According to police, Kelly Gravitt was last seen walking in the area of Pahoa Village Road and Kauhale Street in Pahoa at about 7 p.m. May 19 wearing no shirt and gray shorts.
Gravitt is described as Caucasian, 6 feet tall, 180 pounds, with brown hair, brown eyes and a beard. He has numerous tattoos on his face, neck and body.
Police say Kelly Gravitt has a prosthetic lower left leg, but that’s disputed by Gravitt’s father, who said his son underwent “limb-salvage surgery,” which means he still has his limb.
“Sometimes he has a limp. Sometimes he
walks fine. Sometimes he uses a walking stick,” Geff Gravitt said.
“He hitchhiked, rode the bus and walked for the things he did.”
Geff Gravitt, who has distributed posters with an image of his son sitting shirtless, smiling, with brown drawstring pants and a dark camouflage hat, said callers have claimed to have spotted him in numerous places — including several alleged sightings May 19 — in front of the Pahoa 7-Eleven store, on the county bus, at the Hilo Farmers Market, and at the Stephen Inglis Project’s Grateful Dead tribute show at the Palace Theater.
The concert started about the same time police say Kelly Gravitt was last seen in Pahoa.
Geff Gravitt said he and his girlfriend moved back to Washington state from Pahala on May 4. He said the seven months they lived in Puna, they saw Kelly Gravitt numerous times.
According to Geff Gravitt, his son was the type to disappear, but only for a short while.
“He lived in the woods up above the noni farm down by Kalapana in a tent with a tarp,” Geff Gravitt said. “He received a lot of money from his military (medical) retirement and Social Security disability. He chose to live that lifestyle. But he would always call me once a week.
“He’d lose things with his PTSD and his brain injury, but he’d be buying a new phone as soon as he got paid. And if he didn’t have a phone, he would borrow somebody’s phone, and he would just call me.”
Geff Gravitt described his son as “a tough guy” and is concerned that he may have encountered a wild pig in the forest or have angered “the wrong people.”
“On May 9, he broke up a fight between two locals, and then they both jumped him,” Geff Gravitt said. “He had a black eye, possibly cracked ribs. He told me, ‘It’s no big deal. I was just trying to help out, to break up the fight.’ And he told other people the same thing. But I never heard it from anybody else, ‘hey, I saw the fight’ or ‘hey, this happened here.’
“All I have his version of it.”
Police ask that anyone with information about Kelly Gravitt’s whereabouts call their nonemergency line at (808) 935-3311 or Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300.
Geff Gravitt’s number is (253) 227-8988.
“We love him, and we miss him. We hope to hear from him or from somebody soon that he is all right,” Geff Gravitt said.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
