The parents of an abused 6-year-old boy whose disappearance in 1997 set off a statewide media firestorm were arrested in an investigation unrelated to the child’s disappearance.
Peter Kema Sr. and Jaylin Kema, both 45 and of Pahoa, are in custody, police said late Wednesday afternoon, facing possible drug and firearms charges.
The state Department of Human Services’ Welfare Fraud Investigation Division and Hawaii Police Department served a search warrant Tuesday at the Kemas’ Uilani Drive home in Ainaloa subdivision.
Jaylin Kema was arrested Tuesday afternoon on suspicion of second-degree theft and police say they recovered a handgun and ammunition, plus marijuana and butane honey oil, a marijuana derivative.
“As a result of the search warrant, a firearm, ammunition and suspected drugs were recovered from the residence,” police Lt. Greg Esteban of the Hilo Criminal Investigations Section said late Wednesday afternoon.
On Wednesday afternoon, police arrested her husband on suspicion of ownership prohibited of a firearm, ownership prohibited of ammunition, altering a serial number on a firearm, second-degree promotion of a detrimental drug and fourth-degree promotion of a harmful drug.
Neither had been charged as of late Wednesday afternoon and both remained in the cellblock while detectives continued to investigate.
The Kemas are the parents of Peter Kema Jr., aka “Peter Boy,” who has been missing since 1997.
Peter Kema Sr. said he took the boy to Oahu and gave him to an “Aunty Rose Makuakane” as a hanai, or informal Hawaiian adoption. Neither the woman nor plane tickets could be found to corroborate his story.
Peter Kema Jr. became the statewide poster child for missing and abused children, and in the late 1990s and early 2000s, bumper stickers with the boy’s face proclaiming “Where’s Peter Boy?” were everywhere.
Lillian Koller, then state DHS director, released thousands of pages of Child Protective Services files documenting years of abuse suffered by Peter Boy and his siblings at the hands of Peter Kema Sr.
No body was found and no charges were filed in the boy’s disappearance, but police and prosecutors continue to investigate the case as a murder, and county Prosecutor Mitch Roth said late last year the case could go to the grand jury for an indictment sometime this year.
Peter Kema Sr. and Jaylin Kema were provided a court-appointed attorney after the boy’s disappearance became public, a rare occurrence when no charges have been filed.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
