Missing In Paradise
More than two dozen Big Island residents sought after vanishing between 2021 and 2023
There are currently 25 open missing person investigations involving Big Island residents who vanished over the last two years, according to the Hawaii Police Department.
HPD reported that nine people remain missing from 2021, nine from 2022, and seven people as of August 2023.
“I think there’s some people that don’t want to be found, there’s some people that end up leaving the island, and some people are just missing for several days or a week or so, and then they’re located,” said HPD Capt. Rio Amon-Wilkins, noting that cases can be challenging the longer time goes on. “A lot of times, they’re reported to police when they haven’t been heard from or seen in quite some time.”
At least 12 of the 25 missing people were last seen in the East Hawaii region, mainly in Puna, Pahoa, Keaau and Hilo.
“There’s a lot of remote areas in Puna,” Amon-Wilkins said. “For some of the people that go off the radar or end up getting reported missing, sometimes we just aren’t able to locate them for quite some time.”
Based on the ages of those missing provided by police, a majority were in their 30s and 40s at the time of disappearance.
“For that many people, excluding tourists, to go missing is crazy,” said Geff Gravitt, whose son, Kelly has been missing since May 12.
Kelly Gravitt is a 34-year-old Purple Heart recipient who was last seen at the Black Lava Vape shop in Pahoa, wearing a paisley and rainbow backpack and gray pants.
“I’ve had other mothers reach out to me with missing sons, daughters reach out to me with missing mothers,” Gravitt said. “I got good advice from someone else who had a missing person who is going through this. She said this isn’t a race, it’s a marathon, and that marathons are long, painful, grueling, and that’s the way it is, and she’s right. It’s been that way for me, and it’s been just over a couple months.”
Gravitt is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to his son’s safe return or the conviction of anyone responsible for his disappearance.
HPD on Thursday renewed its request for public assistance in locating Gravitt, but Amon-Wilkins told the Tribune-Herald police do not have any viable leads in the case right now.
Gravitt said there are several rumors regarding his son’s disappearance and that he has received videos, audio recordings and text messages that indicate a possible connection to “Cinderland,” a self-described eco-village roughly 20 miles southeast of Hilo.
“My son was out in Cinderland until December 2022, and that place is just a circus of schizophrenia,” Gravitt said. “These people are just trying to find a place to belong and be a part of something bigger than themselves.”
(This video is from a Facebook post by Jezuz, the “leader” of Cinderland, and seems to refer to Gravitt as “Kel,” and that he may have died.)
Gravitt said he has been working with HPD and shared the pieces of information with detectives, but Amon-Wilkins stated they did not provide anything substantial.
Saturday also marked six months of searching for William Bishop, 76, who went missing around 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 22 near his home in Hawaiian Paradise Park.
Bishop was living with a son and grandson at the time, and his family on the mainland said he was in good health and did not have Alzheimer’s or any other cognitive impairments.
His grandson came out to play basketball and noticed both Bishop and his car were gone, but his wallet, backpack and other items were left behind.
“There’s no way he would just take off, leave his wallet, his phone, and take his car,” his son, Jay Bishop, told the Tribune-Herald. “It’s just not my father.”
Since his disappearance, Bishop’s credit cards have not been used, according to his family, but new evidence emerged after his 2019 silver Toyota Corolla was recovered by police on Feb. 27 in Pahoa.
“It didn’t lead to any clear indication that there was any connection between his disappearance and his vehicle being recovered,” Capt. Amon-Wilkins said. “We processed the car for evidence and everything like that, and there was no indication of foul play related to the vehicle recovery.”
Jay Bishop said he has spoken with the individual who turned the vehicle in.
“Basically, she said she took the car from her mother, who had the car in her possession for a period of time,” he said. “She said she decided that she wanted to do the right thing.”
The family said it remains unclear how the woman’s mother originally obtained the car, and is hopeful more information about the incident will lead to the elder Bishop’s whereabouts.
“She could possibly hold the key to opening this whole thing up,” said Jay Bishop’s wife, Rachel, with the family noting the license plates had been altered and the VIN number was covered up when the car was recovered.
“We’ve had an outpouring of support on social media. We’ve had people on the island asking us for more information,” she said. “People talk, and when they talk, they start making connections, and I think that’s the point we’re at right now. We just don’t seem to be making much progress.”
Jay Bishop noted the family has put in a request for police reports related to his father’s disappearance.
“I’m not calling (the police) every week. I’m calling them once every other week, maybe even longer from time to time,” he said. “Every time I make a phone call, I ask what they’re going to do next.”
But those next steps are vague, according to both the family and HPD.
“We don’t have any real viable leads at this point,” Amon-Wilkins said, adding that at this time, HPD has no indication of foul play and they do not believe the case is connected to any other missing persons investigations.
“A lot of times, (the police) don’t tell us everything, unfortunately,” said William Bishop’s daughter, Serena. “We keep finding out and hearing about all these additional other folks that are going missing, it’s a bit alarming.”
Several families have mentioned the possibility of the FBI getting involved.
“They haven’t shared what the bigger picture is, and that’s okay, because I’m thinking they don’t want to jeopardize it,” Jay Bishop said. “But that might be where the FBI would actually show interest in getting involved.”
Amon-Wilkins said in his experience, HPD has not had the FBI assist them on missing persons cases.
“We have reached out to them in certain instances,” he said. “But, generally, it hasn’t met whatever their criteria is.”
As a state, Hawaii ranked eighth in the nation in 2019 for having the most missing people per capita, according to a report by VivintSource, citing 7.5 missing people per 100,000 residents.
According to the National Missing and Identified Persons System, or NAMUS, there are 235 missing persons cases statewide as of July 2023.
“It just seems like this problem is growing,” Gravitt said. “Or maybe, I’m just more aware of it now.”
For Hawaii County, people who still remain missing, along with the age at which they vanished — when provided — are listed below.
In 2021: Donald Dodge (61), Joshua Toney (26), Tracey Maureen Warren (35), Charles Bruce Graves (69), Michael T. Kitagawachi, Joseph Robarge, Chantelle D’attilio, Joseph David Smithey (54), Mahali De Rasayana (62).
In 2022: Keoni Glenn Kong, Gavin Lee Stansell, Keith Kamaliimakahinuhinu Snelson Tengan Everett (45), Omar Sherman, Jennifer Michelle Showen (41), Landon William Fairbanks (42), Gary Silva-Evangelista (34), Nathaniel Domingo Andres (23), Paul A. Hernandez (51).
In 2023: Mark Knittle (63), William Romeo Bishop (76), William Everette Brownfield, Kris Seizen Yamauchi (65), Jasmine Lily Swartz (35), Kelly Gravitt (34), Mary M. Kaniho (34).
A GoFundMe for William Bishop’s family can be found at: https://tinyurl.com/j6ptnctb
This article was originally published as two separate features in the Hawaii Tribune-Herald