One of two stolen Lahaina signs is returned

One of the two stolen large redwood Lahaina signs was returned last week following reports of community dismay and a plea to get the signage back where it belongs, according to the Lahaina Restoration Foundation.

“There has been an outpouring of support for the return of the sign and the Lahaina community is hopeful that the second sign will also come home,” said Theo Morrison, executive director of the Lahaina Restoration Foundation. “We are very happy the person had a change of heart. We did not ask questions and do not know the identity of the individual.”

The organization reports there is some damage to the top of the sign which will be repaired and then re-installed at the location on the north side of Lahaina along the Honoapiʻilani Highway.

The other sign, which belongs a the south entrance to Lahaina, remains missing.

According to earlier reports, the signs were taken in mid-October 2023, two months after the Lahaina wildfire, and the poles that held them in place were sawed through.

The signs were installed in 1998 and were a community project. Over the 26 years that the signs have stood at the entrances to Lahaina, LRF reports several individuals and groups have maintained them including the Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunrise, Jesse Neizman of Lahaina Restoration Foundation and Saltwater Signs.

If you have any information about the sign that remains missing, email Lahaina Restoration Foundation at [email protected].