Deceased/Not Found HI - Samuel Martinez, 23, from Nebraska, missed flight home, Kauai, 12 May 2021

[DeDee]

Searchers found the spot where Samuel made the SnapChat.

"Searchers identified the location of a pasture on the way to Kokee that Samuel Martinez took videos of on May 13, one of his last known locations."
Hawaii search still on for missing Nebraska hiker

I had forgotten about his shared snapchat messages that were from 1am on 5/13 suggesting he was alive and well and looking at donkeys in a pasture. Wouldn't uploading those to snapchat ping a tower? Meaning there should be another ping sometime on 5/13.

I'm thinking those pings from 5/12 may be completely irrelevant as far as search location unless the donkey pasture is south of Kokee. Also KPD said Samuel did make it to Kokee which was his first night camping 5/12-5/13, so he likely didn't make it to camp until the wee hours of 5/13.

 

[Hoosier952]

How about keeping the pin there, but renaming it to grocery store am 5/12/21? Then it's Phone Ping at 4:40 pm on Waimea Canyon Drive 5/12/21. Then at 8:25 pm on 5/12 it's the area where Waimea and Koke‘e state parks intersect around this area: 22.108782151341252, -159.67032493245065 That location is about 2 miles south of the first campsite he had reserved. We don't know if the siting at the campsite has been confirmed.

I updated the map and highlighted Waimea Canyon Drive since I have no idea where the 4:40 ping may have been. Renamed the pin to reflect grocery store. And added the 8pm ping area.

 

[Inthedetails]

Searchers found the spot where Samuel made the SnapChat.

"Searchers identified the location of a pasture on the way to Kokee that Samuel Martinez took videos of on May 13, one of his last known locations."
Hawaii search still on for missing Nebraska hiker

Okay! That seems a bit promising, I hope.

jmo

 

[ClaireNC]

I had forgotten about his shared snapchat messages that were from 1am on 5/13 suggesting he was alive and well and looking at donkeys in a pasture. Wouldn't uploading those to snapchat ping a tower? Meaning there should be another ping sometime on 5/13.

I'm thinking those pings from 5/12 may be completely irrelevant as far as search location unless the donkey pasture is south of Kokee. Also KPD said Samuel did make it to Kokee which was his first night camping 5/12-5/13, so he likely didn't make it to camp until the wee hours of 5/13.

I forgot about that snapchat too. I wish we knew the location of that pasture, besides that it's on the way to Kokee.

ETA: Could the snapchat messages and the pings be the same thing? Were the messages sent at 1 am Hawaii time? or received by someone in Nebraska at 1 am? If he sent them at 8 pm in Hawaii, wouldn't it be about 1 am in Nebraska? There is a 5 hour time difference.

 

[Hoosier952]

I forgot about that snapchat too. I wish we knew where that pasture is. Did the PD say that they identified where the snapchat photos were taken?

All I could find about the SC pasture was that searchers found it, but nothing about where it was. I tried looking around on maps but realized quickly it was like looking for a needle in a haystack or a donkey on an island.

 

[ClaireNC]

All I could find about the SC pasture was that searchers found it, but nothing about where it was. I tried looking around on maps but realized quickly it was like looking for a needle in a haystack or a donkey on an island.

Did you see this comment that I made above: Could the snapchat messages and the pings be the same thing? Were the messages sent at 1 am Hawaii time? or received by someone in Nebraska at 1 am? If he sent them at 8 pm in Hawaii, wouldn't it be about 1 am in Nebraska? There is a 5 hour time difference.

 

[zecats]

There's this...unless there are many pastures with donkeys on Kauai.

Kumukumu (Donkey) Beach in Kauai - Attraction | Frommer's

When the only way to reach this beach was by a downhill hike through sugarcane fields near a donkey pasture, nude sunbathers took full advantage of its seclusion. Now it’s bordered by large luxury estates and the Ke Ala Hele Makalae coastal path, connecting it to Kealia Beach, 1 1/2 miles south; the 10-minute walk down to the ocean is mostly paved, and even starts at a parking lot with restrooms. So keep your clothes on while enjoying the soft golden sand at this tree-lined beach, also known as Paliku (“vertical cliff”) and Kuna Bay. The water is too rough for swimming or snorkeling, but you may see advanced surfers and bodyboarders here. The north side has a shallow cove that’s safe for wading in calm conditions.

 

[ClaireNC]

There's this...unless there are many pastures with donkeys on Kauai.

Kumukumu (Donkey) Beach in Kauai - Attraction | Frommer's

When the only way to reach this beach was by a downhill hike through sugarcane fields near a donkey pasture, nude sunbathers took full advantage of its seclusion. Now it’s bordered by large luxury estates and the Ke Ala Hele Makalae coastal path, connecting it to Kealia Beach, 1 1/2 miles south; the 10-minute walk down to the ocean is mostly paved, and even starts at a parking lot with restrooms. So keep your clothes on while enjoying the soft golden sand at this tree-lined beach, also known as Paliku (“vertical cliff”) and Kuna Bay. The water is too rough for swimming or snorkeling, but you may see advanced surfers and bodyboarders here. The north side has a shallow cove that’s safe for wading in calm conditions.

Donkey beach is the other side of the island from where the pings were. I've never been to Hawaii, but I do know donkeys. They are excellent pack animals and are often used in mountainous ares. There were donkeys that roamed free on Hawaii, but the state rounded them up and found new homes for them about 5 years ago. I assume it's not that unusual to see donkeys in fenced pastures on the islands. Local tour guides probably use them for hiking/camping tours.

 

[mpnola]

I'm super worried about this guy. I have seen locals saying that his itinerary is not super possible, that the route would be very difficult to navigate and that cell service would not be available. How scary for both him and his family.

 

[Hoosier952]

Did you see this comment that I made above: Could the snapchat messages and the pings be the same thing? Were the messages sent at 1 am Hawaii time? or received by someone in Nebraska at 1 am? If he sent them at 8 pm in Hawaii, wouldn't it be about 1 am in Nebraska? There is a 5 hour time difference.

I didn't see your edit, but I suppose that makes more sense. I guess I was just thinking since it gets dark here at 9:30pm, then that must be what time it gets dark there. Sunset is around 7pm where Sam is, so it likely was sent/taken at 1am NE time.

 

[ClaireNC]

I didn't see your edit, but I suppose that makes more sense. I guess I was just thinking since it gets dark here at 9:30pm, then that must be what time it gets dark there. Sunset is around 7pm where Sam is, so it likely was sent/taken at 1am NE time.

Yes that does make sense in the timeline.

 

[Laughing]

Water suitable for drinking on this island is not easily found and is to be avoided from streams and waterfalls. It contains parasites, thus, must be filtered. This important fact is also mentioned on Koke'e State Park's website. Hence, surely Samuel had read this factor and prepared himself as far as his original trek.

Also in the weather underground linked above, very light rain fell during his first few days in the area.

21 days #kicksdirt

Upthread it was stated that Mr. Martinez purchased camping equipment.

Anyone know if he had a filtration straw?

LifeStraw Personal Water Purifier

 

[Hoosier952]

I'm super worried about this guy. I have seen locals saying that his itinerary is not super possible, that the route would be very difficult to navigate and that cell service would not be available. How scary for both him and his family.

I consider myself a pretty experienced hiker and thought his itinerary seemed reasonable for the first 3 stops, but that was assuming just hiking mostly site to site. There's not a lot of miles between them. That 4th stop makes absolutely no sense to me, because his 5th stop is right back to near where his 3rd was. There's also no direct route to the 4th site from the 3rd or to the 5th without going off the trail and the terrain would in no way allow that anywhere I saw. I do wonder if he made a mistake while reserving sites and was planning on the beach trail being his last stop? A lot of the camp, trail, and site names are very similar.

 

[mpnola]

I consider myself a pretty experienced hiker and thought his itinerary seemed reasonable for the first 3 stops, but that was assuming just hiking mostly site to site. There's not a lot of miles between them. That 4th stop makes absolutely no sense to me, because his 5th stop is right back to near where his 3rd was. There's also no direct route to the 4th site from the 3rd or to the 5th without going off the trail and the terrain would in no way allow that anywhere I saw. I do wonder if he made a mistake while reserving sites and was planning on the beach trail being his last stop? A lot of the camp, trail, and site names are very similar.

I am NOT a hiker, except from the house to the driveway! I am not sure if you have hiked this route, but the locals are saying that on a map, it is very doable, but in reality, it is (I don't want to say the wrong words, but) a pretty straight drop off. It is not a straight path and would be dangerous to navigate without a local navigator. The route was what made them think he planned to go through, rather than around. I might not be saying the exact right specifics, but it was a similar message.

 

[MommyStephV]

Upthread it was stated that Mr. Martinez purchased camping equipment.

Anyone know if he had a filtration straw?

LifeStraw Personal Water Purifier

I’m from Lincoln, so have been following local news and trying to read some of the news reports from Hawaii also so take this with a grain of salt, but I am almost positive I saw a post on social media or comment from a family member that he did have one of the straws. Again, my apologies for not having a source, I don’t even know where to begin looking for it and I hope I’m not wrong, and am hoping it’s not just wishful thinking that I read it somewhere.

 

[JaredScheppers]

I’m from Lincoln, so have been following local news and trying to read some of the news reports from Hawaii also so take this with a grain of salt, but I am almost positive I saw a post on social media or comment from a family member that he did have one of the straws. Again, my apologies for not having a source, I don’t even know where to begin looking for it and I hope I’m not wrong, and am hoping it’s not just wishful thinking that I read it somewhere.

You are correct. He does have a LifeStraw and he had it with him.

 

[JaredScheppers]

I didn't see your edit, but I suppose that makes more sense. I guess I was just thinking since it gets dark here at 9:30pm, then that must be what time it gets dark there. Sunset is around 7pm where Sam is, so it likely was sent/taken at 1am NE time.

It was very very dark in the Snapchats.

 

[Hoosier952]

I am NOT a hiker, except from the house to the driveway! I am not sure if you have hiked this route, but the locals are saying that on a map, it is very doable, but in reality, it is (I don't want to say the wrong words, but) a pretty straight drop off. It is not a straight path and would be dangerous to navigate without a local navigator. The route was what made them think he planned to go through, rather than around. I might not be saying the exact right specifics, but it was a similar message.

I have never been to Hawaii. Too many kids to afford that trip and I doubt I could sneak out without them catching wind of my plans I would absolutely love to go.

I think locals were talking about the "trail" between Kawaikoi campsite and Kalalau Beach based on what I could gather from my flyover tours on 3d and topographical maps. There are lookouts that get you really close, but it's straight down from those lookouts and there are no public trails to be found between. His first 3 camps were all on public maintained trails with no huge changes in elevation and very few stream crossings.

 

[Hoosier952]

It was very very dark in the Snapchats.

Do you think it may have been 1am Hawaii time?

 

[MommyStephV]

There are some interesting comments on the most recent post on the Kauai Police Department Facebook page from someone with the initials GD. I hope I’m not breaking any rules by posting this information…