Work furlough inmate fails to return to Hale Nani in Hilo

Mark Kahalewai, a work furlough inmate at Hale Nani Reintegration Center in Hilo on the Big Island, failed to return from a furlough pass as scheduled by 2 p.m. Friday. Big Island police and state sheriffs were notified.

Kahalewai is 65 years old, 5-foot-9 and weighs 185 pounds. He is bald with a gray goatee or moustache and brown eyes. He is serving time for first-degree assault and now faces an added escape charge when found.

Kahalewai’s next parole hearing was scheduled for Sept. 7.

If you see him, call 9-1-1.

Kahalewai is a community custody inmate in the work furlough program with pass privileges. Community custody is the lowest classification status. Hale Nani is a dorm-style facility located in Panaʻewa, offering offenders reintegration services and a work release program for sentenced inmates who will be released on the Big Island.