The Unexplained Disappearance of Daylenn Pua
A photo of Daylenn “Moke” Pua before he went missing. Photo: Strange Outdoors
Daylenn Pua was an 18 year old man who went missing while climbing the “Stairway to Heaven” in Hawaii in 2015. Photos he sent to his girlfriend during his hike showed a mysterious figure stalking him from the bushes.
Who was Daylenn Pua?
Daylenn Pua. Photo: Mysteries Unsolved
Daylenn Pua, also known as Moke, was an 18 year old who was visiting his Grandma, Martha Bear, in Waianae on Hawaii’s Big Island.
Daylenn was a senior at Ke Kula ‘O Ehunuikaimalino, a Hawaiian immersion school in Kealakekua. While visiting with his Grandma Martha he expressed interest in climbing the Ha’iku Stairs or the “Stairway to Heaven” on Oahu. Martha warned him not to go as the mountain was closed off by the authorities.
The infamous “Stairway to Heaven” or the Ha’iku Steps, near where Daylenn Pua was last seen.
The Haʻikū Stairs, also known as the "Stairway to Heaven," is a 3,922-step steel structure that provided access to a former U.S. Navy communication facility on Oʻahu in Hawaii. It spans the Ko'olau mountain range and provides views of Kaneohe and Kaneohe Bay.
The structure was built in 1942 to support the Haʻikū Radio Station, a top-secret facility that transmitted radio signals to Navy ships throughout the Pacific. The station was decommissioned in the 1950s and later used by the U.S. Coast Guard. The wooden stairs were replaced with metal steps and ramps in the mid-1950s and the trail was closed to the public in 1987.
On February 27, 2015, Pua departed from his grandmother's residence and boarded a bus from Waianae, heading to the Haiku Stairs. Pua wore a white long-sleeved t-shirt, black surf shorts, slippers, and carried a red backpack.
The Disappearance of Daylenn Pua
The last photo taken by Daylenn Pua containing a mysterious man.
When Daylenn didn’t return home on February 27th, Martha Bear grew worried. She contacted police who quickly discovered that Daylenn had attempted to hike the Ha’iku Stairs trail, sending pictures to his friends and posting on social media.
To locate Daylenn Pua, the search efforts involved various groups such as the fire department, local volunteers, drone operators, and even the U.S. Navy. On the Monday after his disappearance, two hikers reported hearing cries for help, which led the fire department to extend their search until Tuesday, March 3, 2015.
Unfortunately at 4:44 pm, the official search was suspended, although Pua's relatives and local volunteers continued searching the area for any clues. Nothing has ever been found.
After extensively studying the pictures, Daylenn's family found a man lurking in the background of one of the photos.
They speculated that the man might have been following Pua, but it's unclear who he was or his intentions. It's possible that he was simply using the bushes to urinate, but his identity and motives remain a mystery.
Some have theorized that the man has come forward, but this has not been confirmed by authorities, and it's possible that he has not wanted to admit to climbing the technically illegal trail.
Theories about the Disappearance of Daylenn Pua
A video about the disappearance of Daylenn “Moke” Pua
Did the mysterious man in the photo have something to do with the disappearance of Daylenn Pua? While it has never been confirmed by authorities, a reddit user claims that it was their friend in the photo. They claim that their friend just happened to be in the background of the photo and told the police that it was them.
It seems most likely that Daylenn Pua may have slipped and fallen on the Stairway to Heaven. A powerful storm swept through the region on Valentines Day weekend of 2015, just two weeks before Daylenn attempted the hike. Authorities have stated that the track was basically unusable after this storm.
This doesn’t explain why his body has never been found. In spite of the track being closed, hundreds of people still hike the Stairway to Heaven every year by sneaking past security guards.
The investigation into the disappearance of Daylenn Pua is still ongoing.
What do you think happened to Daylenn Pua? Let us know in the comments.
If you found this story interesting you might be interested in the legend of the Hawaiian Night Marchers or the unexplained disappearance of Vladimir Bastl.
