Police Seek Grandmother Over Withholding of Lanai Child
By Dave Smith
***Update now posted at the following direct LINK.
Police are asking for the public’s help locating a 2-year-old Lanai boy and his grandmother in connection with a case of custodial interference on the Big Island.
On March 5, the child’s 22-year-old mother gave permission to his paternal grandmother, 53-year-old Katherine Ruth Hunter, to fly the boy to the Big Island for a five-day visit.
Hunter has since refused to return the child to his mother on Lanai.
The boy is Hispanic, 2-foot-6 and 35 pounds with long brown hair and brown eyes.
Police are looking for the grandmother, who was last known to live in Pahoa, in connection with the custodial interference investigation.
Hunter is described as Caucasian, 5-foot-8 and 170 pounds. She has long white hair and green eyes.
On March 30, the boy’s mother, who is the legal custodian of the child, traveled from Lanai to the Big Island where she saw her son and the boy’s biological father at a Pahoa restaurant. The two drove away before police could be contacted.
The boy’s father, 25-year-old Noah Sanchez of Keaau, is wanted on an outstanding warrant unrelated to the custody case.
Sanchez is described as 5-foot-9 and 160 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the Hawaii Island police department at 808-935-3311.
Anonymous calls can be made to Crime Stoppers at 961-8300. Callers may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.