A creepy photo shared by a teenage hiker before he disappeared in Hawaii may be instrumental in solving the years-long missing person case.
Daylenn ‘Moke’ Pua, 18, went out alone to climb the iconic Ha’ikū Stairs on the island of O’ahu on February 26, 2015.
Also known as the “Stairway to Heaven,” the dangerous 3,922-step climb to the top of Ko’olau Mountain has long been banned. But thrill seekers and social media influencers continued to ignore safety warnings to enjoy the magnificent views.
When Pua did not return from his hike, the Navy, Honolulu Fire Department and volunteers desperately searched the Moanalua Valley mountain region for days, but his body was never found. SF Gate reported.
One of the last photographs Pua sent to his family was believed to have been taken on the difficult Kulana’ahane trail, and they later realized it showed a grainy, human-like figure crouching in the bushes.
Family members at the time desperately asked for the public’s help in identifying the man in the photo in the hopes that it could provide more clues that could lead to Pua’s location.
Daylenn ‘Moke’ Pua, 18, went out alone to climb the iconic Ha’ikū Stairs on the island of O’ahu on February 27, 2015.
One of the last photos Pua sent to his family was taken on the Kulana’ahane trail, which they later realized showed a mysterious human figure crouching in the bushes.
Pua was a high school student on the island of Hawaii, where he had six siblings and was visiting his grandmother on O’ahu. Family members described him as an “adventurous person.”
Just hours after setting out on his walk, he posted his excitement on Facebook and said: ‘Stairway to Heaven.’ Tomorrow we will do this crazy hike. Wish me luck.’
One of his friends urged him to be careful because a landslide had recently occurred and warned him that “some stairs were missing.”
He told her he was aware of the broken stairs and planned to take a different path, adding that he would be careful.
Another friend reminded Pua that the Haiku stairs were closed and if he tried to go he faced a large fine.
But Pua didn’t seem worried about receiving a citation, telling him that “there are other ways to get to the stairs without breaking any laws.”
A previous news article reported that Pua may have walked through Moanalua Valley to reach the top and not climbed the stairs.
However, many say that this secondary route is even more dangerous than the illegal staircase.
On the day of his walk, his last public post on Facebook read: ‘And the walk begins. #haiku’.
When he did not return that night, his grandmother reported him missing the next day, Friday, February 27.
Volunteer rescuers rappelled 600 feet below the cliffs to where he was last seen, but were unable to find him.
The fire department focused on a narrow ridge with steep drops on either side based on a reported cry for help from two hikers. Hawaii News Now reported in the days after his disappearance.
His family also searched high and low, traveling to the spot where his cell phone last rang.
Also known as the ‘Stairway to Heaven’, climbing the treacherous Ha’ikū stairs to the top of Ko’olau Mountain has long been prohibited.
A grainy photo shared by Pua before he disappeared shows the shadow of a man in the distance.
A file image shows a female hiker climbing the steep and treacherous mountain route.
Pua’s grandmother, Martha Bear, told him Honolulu Star Advertiser that she had told her grandson not to go hiking, saying at the time that “he always brightens the day.”
Ethan Pearson-Pomerantz, president of Oahu Search and Rescue and a pilot, told DailyMail.com that while his group did not exist when Pua went missing, he and a group of community volunteers had searched for the young hiker.
He said the primary response agency for missing persons in a wilderness area is the Honolulu Fire Department, which was also part of the search.
the tThe rail network where Pua disappeared, he explained, is located within the Honolulu Watershed Forest Preserve, which is about eight square miles made up of thick canopy, valleys, bluffs and streams.
“There are stretches where you can see a good distance in any direction, and there are areas where it is difficult to see more than a few meters ahead,” he explained.
As for wildlife in the region, he said it’s mostly the valley pigs that are generally “not a threat to humans.”
When asked about the mysterious photo, Pearson-Pomerantz said he didn’t think anything would come of it.
He added that Pua’s disappearance was not a common occurrence.
“It is relatively rare that people are not found,” he said. “Without further clues as to what happened, it is difficult to hazard a guess as to what happened.”
Pomerantz, who is familiar with the terrain, said survival in Hawaii is better than many other places because of the climate and access to water and food.
Over the years, there have been cases of people surviving up to 17 days after getting lost, he said. But he added that within the area where Pua was walking there are places where “you could get lost and areas where you could slip and fall.”
Pua’s grandmother said he liked to sing and dance hula.
Pua was also described as very adventurous before disappearing while walking.
DailyMail.com attempted to contact family members for updates on the case.
The Haiku Stairs were installed in the mountains of O’ahu by the US Army during World War II.
Over the decades it became a popular destination for tourists and hikers.
The staircase is made up of 3,922 metal steps and has an elevation gain of 3,212 feet, making it a strenuous 10.3-mile hike that takes eight to ten hours to complete.
In 1987, the stairs were closed to the public for safety reasons. The railing and many of the stairs were loose and in some areas vegetation grew which made it even more dangerous.
A storm in 2015, the same year Pua disappeared, also caused more destruction.
In April 2024, a project to permanently remove the stairs was started after hikers continued to ignore the ban, but it was complicated by a lawsuit.
Mayor Rick Blangiardi said at the time that “the decision to remove the stairs was not an easy one.” Fox59 News reported.
