An eerie photograph shared by a teen hiker before he vanished in Hawaii may be critical to cracking the years-long missing person case.
Daylenn ‘Moke’ Pua, 18, set 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 treacherous climb up 3,922 stairs to the Ko’olau mountain summit has long been banned. But thrill seekers and social media influencers continued to ignore safety warnings to see the magnificent views.
When Pua failed to return from his hike, the Navy, Honolulu Fire Department and volunteers desperately searched the mountainous region of Moanalua Valley for days – but his body has never been found, SFGate reported.
One of the last photos Pua sent to his family was believed to have been taken on the difficult Kulana’ahane Trail, which they later realized showed a grainy human-like figure crouching among the shrubbery.
Family members at the time desperately asked for the public’s help identifying the man in the photo in the hope he may be able to provide more clues that could lead to Pua’s location.
Daylenn ‘Moke’ Pua, 18, set out alone to climb the iconic Ha’ikūStairs 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-like figure crouching among the shrubbery
Pua was a high school student from Hawaii Island where he had six siblings and was visiting his grandmother on O’ahu. Family members described him as an ‘adventurous person’.
Just hours setting out on his hike, he posted his excitement on Facebook, saying: ‘Stairway to Heaven. Hiking this insane hike tomorrow. Wish me luck.’
One of his friends urged him to be careful as there had been a recent landslide and cautioned him that ‘some of the stairs’ were missing.
He told her that he was aware of the broken stairs and said he was planning to take a different way – adding that he would be careful.
Another friend reminded Pua that the Haiku Stairs were closed and if he attempted to go he faced being hit with a big fine.
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But Pua did not seem concerned about getting a citation, and told her ‘there’s other ways to getting to the stairs without breaking any laws.’
A previous news article reported that Pua may have hiked through Moanalua Valley to reach the summit and not up the stairs.
However, many say this back route is even more dangerous than the illegal stairway.
On the day of his hike, his last public Facebook post read: ‘And the hike begins. #haiku’.
When he did not return that evening, his grandmother reported him missing the following day on Friday, February 27.
Volunteer rescue crews 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 either side based on a cry for help reported by two hikers, Hawaii News Now reported in the days after he vanished.
His family also searched far and wide, traveling to the location where his cell phone last pinged.
Also known as the ‘Stairway to Heaven’, hiking the treacherous Ha’ikū Stairs to the Ko’olau mountain summit has long been banned
A grainy photo shared by Pua before he vanished shows the shadow of a man in the distance
A stock image shows a female hiker climbing the steep and treacherous route up the mountain
Pua’s grandmother Martha Bear told Honolulu Star-Advertiser that she had told her grandson not to go on the hike, and said at the time ‘he always lights up the day’.
Ethan Pearson-Pomerantz, president of the 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 all looked for the young hiker.
He said the primary response agency for missing persons in a wilderness area is the Honolulu Fire Department, who were also part of the search.
The trail network Pua went missing on, he explained, is located within the Honolulu Watershed Forest reserve, which is approximately eight square miles made up of heavy canopy, valleys, cliffs, and streams.
‘There are sections where you can see a good distance in any direction, and there are areas where it is difficult to see more than a few feet ahead of you,’ he explained.
As for wildlife in the region, he said it is mostly pigs in the valley which are generally ‘not a threat to humans’.
When asked about the mysterious photo, Pearson-Pomerantz said he did not believe anything came of it in the end.
He added that Pua’s disappearance was not a common occurrence.
‘People not being found is relatively rare,’ he said. ‘Without more clues as to what happened, it is difficult to hazard a guess as to what happened.’
Pomerantz, who is familiar with the terrain, said that survivability in Hawaii is better than many other places due to 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 Pua was hiking there are places ‘one could potentially get lost and areas one could potentially slip and fall.’
Pua’s grandmother said he enjoyed singing and dancing the hula
Pua was also described as very adventurous before he vanished while hiking
DailyMail.com tried to reach out to family members for updates on the case.
The Haiku Stairs were installed in the mountains of O’ahu by the U.S. military 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 stairs and has an elevation of 3,212 feet, making for a strenuous 10.3 mile hike that takes between eight to ten hours to complete.
In 1987, the stairs closed to the public due to safety issues. The railing and many of the stairs were loose and there was vegetation growing in some areas that made it even more hazardous.
A storm in 2015, the same year Pua disappeared, also created further destruction.
In April 2024, a project to remove the stairs permanently began after hikers continued to ignore the ban, but was complicated by a lawsuit.
Mayor Rick Blangiardi said at the time the ‘decision to remove the stairs was not an easy one,’ Fox59 News reported.