Question: Whatever happened to the missing person’s case of Kimberly Day Jacobs, who was last seen at her Waikiki apartment in August 2008?
Answer: The case remains open, according to spokeswoman Michelle Yu of the Honolulu Police Department.
"There are no suspects or leads at this time," she said.
According to a news report, the woman’s husband last saw her at about 6:15 p.m. on Aug. 21, 2008. Stan Jacobs said he left for a meeting. When he returned to the apartment at 8 p.m., his wife of three years was not there.
In a 2008 Honolulu Star-Bulletin story, Jacobs said his wife had been feeling down because of health issues and a troublesome tenant occupying one of their properties in California.
Her cellphone, purse and other belongings were left behind at their apartment.
Jacobs was 47 years old when she vanished.
When asked Wednesday what it has been like for him since his wife’s disappearance, Jacobs said it has been difficult.
"Hard, horrible," he said.
Friends and family members also say her disappearance continues to be painful. Her older sister, Stephanie Humphries, said, "My mom passed away not knowing what happened." Their mother died in 2010.
Jacobs was declared dead last year, five years from the time of her disappearance. Under state law, an individual is presumed dead if he or she has been missing for five consecutive years.
Though a presumption of death had been declared, the police continue to investigate the matter as a missing person’s case.
In a phone interview from California, Humphries said Jacobs was "full of life and had future plans."
Born in Los Angeles, Jacobs, who has an adult daughter, earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of California, San Diego and a master’s degree in education from the University of San Diego. Her sister said Jacobs had talked about possibly pursuing a doctorate degree in gerontology.
She moved to Hawaii during the mid-1990s.
Loved ones described Jacobs as vibrant and an avid traveler who had visited Machu Picchu, the Great Wall of China and Russia.
"She was always a very upbeat person," Humphries said.
Jacobs’ sister and a missing-persons agency created a Facebook page in an effort to gather information from the public on the case. Friends and family members have been posting old photos of Jacobs and messages of how much they miss her.
Jacobs has brown hair and brown eyes. She is 5 feet 4 inches and weighs 130 pounds. She walked with a slight limp due to a case of polio and a whitewater rafting accident; her right foot was slightly bent. Anyone with information on the case is urged to call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300.
———
This update was written by Rosemarie Bernardo. Suggest a topic for “Whatever Happened To…” by writing Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-210, Honolulu 96813; call 529-4747; or email cityeditors@staradvertiser.com.
