Alleged kidnapper sought

Police are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying an alleged kidnapper.

A man told police that at about 8 p.m. Friday, while driving east on Mauna Kea Beach Drive in the Waikoloa resort area, he picked up a man hitchhiking. Once inside the alleged victim’s vehicle, the hitchhiker brandished a weapon, demanded to be driven to an undisclosed location, and assaulted the victim causing him to suffer minor injuries. During this incident, the victim overtook a vehicle, quickly stopped and got out of the car in an attempt to seek help. The victim’s vehicle rolled backward and struck the front portion of the vehicle he had just passed. The victim then got back into the driver’s seat of his car with the male suspect still inside, and continued driving east on Mauna Kea Beach Drive and then south on Queen Kaahumanu Highway.

In the area of Mauna Lani Bay Drive, the hitchhiker demanded the victim to stop the vehicle and the suspect got out. He was then seen getting into an older model white van with darkened windows, a sliding side door and no visible front license plate. The victim was able to drive away and reported the incident to police the next day.

The suspect is described as middle-age, possibly of Hawaiian and Asian descent, about 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall, with salt-and-pepper “buzz cut” hair, a small mustache, a salt-and-pepper beard, with no visible scars or tattoos. He was wearing a plain white T-shirt, blue surf shorts and slippers. The suspect also was carrying a black-and-gray backpack with small items tied to the front of it.

Police identified the occupants of the vehicle that was struck but are asking anyone who knows the identities of the male suspect or the individuals who picked him up in the van to call the police nonemergency line at 935-3311 or Crime Stoppers at 961-8300.