Honolulu police suspend search for missing 6-year-old Isabella Kalua
Sep. 21—The search for missing 6-year-old Isabella Kalua was suspended Monday by the Honolulu Police Department.
A spokeswoman for the department said the investigation into the disappearance of the Waimanalo girl remains active and that detectives will continue to follow up on leads.
Department spokeswoman Michelle Yu said anyone with information on this case should contact HPD or CrimeStoppers at 955-8300. The public also can send anonymous web tips to honolulucrime stoppers.org or via the P3 Tips app.
The girl was last seen asleep in her room at her Puha Street address in Waimanalo on Sunday, Sept. 12, at about 9 p.m., according to police.
Isabella's adoptive parents, Isaac K. "Sonny " Kalua III and his wife, Lehua, said they think Isabella may have been abducted or simply wandered off, according to a family spokesman, William Harrison, who has said police were immediately called at 6 a.m. Monday when the couple awoke to find her gone. They also allowed police to search the house.
Harrison, a criminal defense attorney, has said the child has a history of going outside at night to sleep in the yard and that electronic locks on the house confirm when she left the home. He said he is acting as a counselor and advised them not to search for Isabella, speak to the media or engage social media because they were getting death threats and didn't want their words to get twisted.
Child Welfare Services investigated two serious injuries that Isabella suffered in the past two years, Hawaii News Now reported Monday evening. The first injury was a broken finger in October 2019, which her adopted family said was slammed in a door, HNN reported. In January 2020 she suffered a broken leg and was taken to the emergency room, the TV station reported. The family said the girl was injured on a trampoline, according to HNN.
In both cases a panel of experts determined there was no maltreatment, the TV station reported.
Meanwhile, her biological family has been organizing search efforts since the girl, named Ariel Sellers at birth, disappeared. Hundreds of volunteers have looked for the girl in coordination with the Honolulu Police and Fire departments and multiple state and federal partners.
At a candlelight vigil held Sunday at Waimanalo District Park, the family announced it would no longer help coordinate the volunteer searches for the girl.
A spokesman for the family said the search would continue but not at the park, which also served as a command post for police and other authorities.
Another family member at the vigil encouraged the community, "Leave a light on for Isabella."
