Yahoo Autos Good Samaritans hailed as heroes after saving girl from kidnapper in Hawaii restaurant
A 15-year-old girl who was abducted at knifepoint in Hawaii last week was rescued over the weekend by a restaurant host and a customer who jumped into action after recognizing her from local news reports.
Mikella DeBina and her boyfriend were on a secluded beach in the area of Anaehoomalu Bay near Waikoloa Beach Drive when a man held them at knifepoint and forced the girl to tie her boyfriend up and put a blindfold on him, the victim’s aunt told police.
She was then abducted by Duncan Mahi, 52, police said. Mahi brought DeBina to the beach parking area where she was forced into a white Honda SUV. The man also forced the girl to smoke methamphetamine and sexually assaulted her, investigators said. After she was forced to smoke meth for a second time, DeBina pretended to sleep for the rest of the drive to Mahi's home, KITV reported.
Mahi then led DeBina to a yellow school bus where the suspect tightened a brown fabric cuff on her leg, allowing only three and a half feet of movement.
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An AMBER Alert was issued after local news outlets shared an image of DeBina.
The teen and her alleged abductor stopped by Cafe Pesto in Downtown Hilo the next day when restaurant host Bridge Hartman felt something was off, Hawaii News Now reported.
DeBina was dressed in men’s clothing and started fighting with Mahi in an alleyway near the restaurant. Another witness tried to intervene when he heard the girl yelling for the man to let her go. Mahi claimed that DeBina was his daughter and told the witness, "What the f*** are you doing? Get out of my way!”
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That’s when Hartman shouted, “‘That’s the girl. That’s the AMBER Alert girl.’”
Kori Takaki, who was eating lunch at Cafe Pesto with her mother, also rushed to the girl’s aid. The two good Samaritans waited with DeBina at the back of the restaurant.
