Heartbreaking update in hunt for teenage girl and boy who vanished off Hawaii coast

The hunt for a teenage miss and lad who mysteriously vanished disconnected the Hawaii coast has been suspended. 

Samantha Chun, 17, and Joseph 'Joey' Fujioka, 18, were reported missing connected Friday aft they failed to instrumentality location following a nighttime connected the North Shore together.

The multiagency hunt was called disconnected astatine sunset connected Tuesday aft quality remains were recovered connected Saturday day astir 200 yards disconnected Ke Iki Beach connected the North Shore. 

The remains were confirmed to beryllium human, but the individuality of the remains and if they beryllium to 1 oregon much individuals has not yet been determined, Fire Captain Jaimie Song with the Honolulu Fire Department said.

Song said that the assemblage is hopeful Samantha and Joey mightiness inactive beryllium retired determination arsenic it besides remains unclear if the remains are related to the case. 

'We bash not person confirmation, though, that those remains are related to this hunt effort, truthful we inactive clasp that hope,' she said. Their families person been notified of the findings. 

U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Michelle Rice said that the determination to suspend the hunt was 'very analyzable and difficult.' 

'We person a batch of treatment with our spouse agencies to marque definite that we are making the champion decisions that we tin arsenic a radical and collectively, and conscionable fixed the concern surrounding the case, arsenic good arsenic our hunt efforts to this point,' Rice said. 

'Unless thing caller comes up, we’ve travel to that precise hard determination to suspend the lawsuit contiguous astatine sunset.' 

The brace were past seen connected camera astir 9.45pm section clip Friday buying items astatine a convenience store successful Mililani - the metropolis some Samantha and Joey are from. 

The U.S. Coast Guard were officially notified astir the missing teens astir 11am Saturday greeting aft Samantha's parent recovered their belongings connected the beach. 

'Keys, wallet and covering - everything that indicated they had relaxed astatine the beach, and that's what started our hunt efforts,' Rice said. 

Joey's household were besides capable to way his phone's determination to the beach,  Lt. Deena Thoemmes with the Honolulu Police Department said. 

'Based connected Joseph’s telephone location, his household was capable to find that his telephone ran retired of artillery astatine 11:06 p.m. His past determination was astatine the beach. All the items person been recovered,' Thoemmes said. 

Although the hunt has been suspended, the Honolulu Police Department said they volition proceed to look for Samantha and Joey, who according to Thoemmes, are fellow and girlfriend. 

'On Friday, Jan. 17, conscionable aft 9 p.m., Joseph near his location to prime up his girlfriend, Samantha, from her location successful Mililani. At astir 9:47 p.m., they went to Aloha Gas connected Kipapa Drive and past they arrived astatine Ke Iki Beach astatine astir 10:30 p.m.,' Thoemmes detailed. 

She said that Joey past parked his 2012 metallic Toyota Corolla connected Ke Iki Road. It 'was aboriginal recovered locked and secured,' Hawaii News Now reported. 

The section is inactive interviewing witnesses and reviewing surveillance footage to larn much astir what happened to them. 

Thoemmes said the section has not ruled retired foul play. 

On Saturday evening, Samantha's mother, Kiyomi Chun took to Facebook asking the nationalist to assistance find her girl and Joey. 

'Please assistance find my girl Samantha “Sammy” Chun and her person Joseph! Last known determination is ke iki formation northbound enactment past night. Any info regarding either of their locations greatly appreciated!,' she wrote alongside images of them. 

Samantha's coworkers from the McDonald's she works astatine adjacent Waipio Acres described her arsenic idiosyncratic with 'good energy.' 

'She was ever affirmative erstwhile she would travel to work, she'd enactment a grin connected peoples faces,' they told the outlet. 

Prior to being called off, the Coast Guard and different agencies spent much than '54 combined hours' searching for the missing teenagers crossed 2,321 square-nautical miles. 

Their families person thanked the nationalist for their efforts and person urged them to support looking for Joey and Samantha. 

'All organizations person been astonishing during this intolerable time; Police, Fire, Coast Guard, Lifeguards, Ocean Safety, Civil Air Patrol, the Guard and Active Duty members, arsenic good arsenic the volunteers who person searched the surrounding areas, astir neighborhoods and into the mountains — each who are moving to assistance bring our children home,' they said. 

'Please support looking. If anyone saw them that nighttime oregon has immoderate accusation that mightiness assistance america find them, delight interaction the authorities. We don’t cognize what happened that night. We don’t cognize for definite that they went into the water. The waves were immense and some kids were calved and raised successful Hawaii and cognize and emotion the ocean.' 

From Friday nighttime into Saturday morning, the h2o conditions were unsafe with waves ranging from 30-40 feet-tall, according to Ocean Safety Lt. Jesse King. 

Samantha has been described arsenic five-feet gangly with agelong brownish hair, freckles and brownish eyes. Joey is five-feet, 10 inches gangly with brownish hairsbreadth and brownish eyes.