Tourist gone missing in 2019 on Maui may be on Hawai‘i Island

Hawai‘i Island police are requesting the public’s assistance in locating 26-year-old Khiara Lavinia Henry.

Henry was reported missing on the island of Maui in late July 2019 – however, her family recently received a tip of a possible sighting of her in Pāhoa town on Jan. 13, 2023.

Henry, who is from San Diego, California, traveled to Maui in July 2019 for a vacation.

“She traveled to Maui alone and is described as being adventurous and loves hiking,” according to a video produced by Maui police.

Her rental vehicle was later located along with some of her personal belongings at the Waiʻānapanapa State Park on July 21, 2019. She has not been seen or heard from since.

Henry was 23 years old when she went missing, and was last seen wearing a white “ELKO” T-shirt, and sporting a small black backpack.

Henry is described as 5 feet 3 inches tall, 120 pounds, with wavy brown hair and brown eyes. She also has two visible and distinct tattoos on her upper right arm–a picture of a sunflower, and below that (above the elbow), is a tattoo of praying hands.

According to a Maui Now story in 2021, Henry checked into the Aston Maui Hill in Kīhei on July 18, 2019. Police say she took a couple of guided tours while she was here. On July 19, 2019, she took a Hāna bus tour that included a visit to Waiʻānapanapa. The next day, on July 20, 2019, she then took a Hike Maui Tour of East Maui waterfalls and the rainforest, which included a stop at Twin Falls.

“On July 21, 2019 at around 2 p.m., Khiara rented a black Nissan Sentra from Hertz Rental Car in Kahului, for a one day visit to Waiʻānapanapa in Hāna, Maui,” according to police. This was the last date that Henry was seen or heard from.

“Calls to Khiara’s cell phone went straight to voicemail and her credit card was not used after this date.”

Police say Henry held reservations for a week at a hotel in Kīhei, but failed to show up for her reservations that were supposed to run from July 22-29, 2019.

On July 23, 2019, police say the rental vehicle Henry was using, was found “appearing to be abandoned” in the gravel parking lot of Waiʻānapanapa State Park; however, Henry was not reported missing at the time.

Two days later, on July 25, 2019, park officials made a report to the Maui Police Department, indicating the vehicle was abandoned and a “suspicious activity” report was made.

On July 26, 2019, after numerous calls and texts from family members with no success, Kīhei Patrol officers initiated a Missing Person Report for the family to locate Henry. Also on July 26, 2019, police say Henry’s credit card and ID were found hidden in the center console of the abandoned rental vehicle, and luggage also remained in the car.

Items missing and located include: Henry’s small black backpack, her cell phone, and the rental car keys. Police say the mileage of the rental car was consistent with a trip from the rental agency to Waiʻānapanapa State Park.

Henry was scheduled to depart Maui on July 29, 2019, but never showed up for her flight.

Hawaiʻi Island police ask anyone who may have seen Henry or has information on her whereabouts to call the police department’s non-emergency number at 808-935-3311.

Her family set up a hotline at 808-757-5102 and a Facebook page, Find Khiara Henry.

Her story also was an episode on the podcast Bite-Sized Crime.

Editorʻs Note: This story was updated with information from a 2021 Maui Now story.