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Woman, 22, charged with terroristic threatening after attempted child abduction in Maili

Honolulu police arrested a 22-year-old woman who allegedly attempted to abduct a 9-year-old girl from her yard in Maili on Tuesday.

The girl was playing with other children when they were approached by the female stranger who first tried to lure away her 7-year-old brother, police said. The suspect then allegedly used verbal and physical coercion to lead the girl away from her home, police said.

When the girl’s brother ran after his sister, the woman threatened him. At that point their mother came out of the house and got her daughter back, according to police.

The suspect had been walking around the neighborhood, and police arrested Jena Kaopua at 4:49 p.m. near the corner of Farrington Highway and Kakalena Street.

Kaopua was initially arrested on suspicion of kidnapping but was charged instead with custodial interference and second-degree terroristic threatening.

Her bail was set at $5,000.

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