Dozens of family and friends of two missing teens last seen Friday evening at a Mi­lilani convenience store gathered Sunday at Ke Iki Beach near Shark’s Cove, where the teens’ belongings were found Saturday morning.

The tone was somber but hopeful for the 60 people anxiously waiting on the beach for an update on the whereabouts of Samantha Chun, a 17-year-old student at Hawaii Technology Academy, and Joey Fujioka, an 18-year-old who graduated in 2024 and wants to be a pilot.

HFD Battalion Chief Robert Thurston told the Honolulu Star- Advertiser on Sunday at the scene that HFD would suspend its search just before sunset but would resume today and, if needed, continue through at least Tuesday evening.

“Our policy is to search for three full days unless we get new information or there’s a reason for the fire chief to extend the search,” Thurston said. “That determination would be made on Tuesday, which would be the third full day of searching. Yesterday was not a full day, so it doesn’t count.”

Thurston said 17 personnel from HFD were searching Ke Iki Beach and the surrounding area because the teens’ belongings were found there. Personnel from Honolulu Ocean Safety, the Honolulu Police Department, the Coast Guard and National Guard members also were part of search, which included boats, divers, helicopters and at least one drone combing the area.

Shayne Enright, spokesperson for Honolulu Emergency Medical Services and Honolulu Ocean Safety, said, “We are searching for them in the ocean because it is possible that they went into the water. Officially, we are searching on water and on land, and we did a shoreline search as well.”

CrimeStoppers and the Honolulu Police Department also issued a bulletin Sunday seeking the public’s assistance in locating the teens, who they said were last seen at a Mililani area convenience store purchasing items at about 9:54 p.m. Friday. Family later found their personal belongings Saturday morning at Ke Iki Beach on the North Shore, CrimeStoppers said.

The CrimeStoppers bulletin has pictures of the missing teens, and their physical description. Fujioka is described as 5 feet, 10 inches tall with brown hair and brown eyes. Chun is described as 5 feet tall with long brown hair and brown eyes, and freckles.

CrimeStoppers is asking anyone with information to call 808-955-8300 or send anonymous web tips to honolulucrimestoppers.org or via the P3 Tips app.

The families of the teens declined to be interviewed at the scene but said they were thankful for the many agencies and people who had joined the search.

Longtime family friend Roslyn Catracchia, who was part of the Ke Iki Beach gathering Sunday, said what the families of the teens most need is “space and prayers.”

“Everyone who loves (the teens) is out here, and the number keeps growing,” Catracchia said. “The support has been amazing, and the first responders are just so brave. They are doing anything and everything that they can to find them.”

Catracchia said since waves and currents are unpredictable, she asks the community to help searchers by “keeping an eye out at their favorite beaches and, if they see anything, to call 911.”

Capt. Rob Imai, program manager for HFD’s Unmanned Aircraft System program, who was part of the Ke Iki Beach search Sunday, said the drone team continued the search for as long as possible Saturday night and resumed Sunday with a plan to continue into dark.

“We fly the drone when the helicopter is getting fueled. We go up about every hour and a half. We are doing a visual search of the last point where they were believed to be,” Imai said. “The search field we are working with is about a half-mile long and about 150 yards out into the water.”

Imai said so far the drones have not found a visual, but if they find something they will pin it and send the coordinates to the incident command and the helicopter.

“I run the drone program. We got cut off at 6 p.m. on Saturday, but we still flew longer. The family was here and I want to find something. I’m a father, too. We’ll probably do that today, too,” he said. “We supply more eyes in the sky.”

Enright said Sunday that Ocean Safety had five Jet Ski crews, lifeguards on ATV, and mobile lieutenants searching throughout the day with a plan to continue until dark.

She said Ocean Safety will resume searching at first light today, and noted that the surf, which had estimated 12- to 20-foot faces through Sunday, was expected to decline overnight.

According to authorities, waves had estimated 40-foot faces Friday night and roughly 18-foot faces during Saturday’s search. The Coast Guard reported that searchers were facing winds of 12 to 15 mph and “poor visibility” near the shore.

Thurston said search conditions Sunday also were challenging. “Surf-wise it’s a little rough, and the divers — the best that they are getting is 10 feet of visibility down there. They have searched two ledges that were highly likely to have any positive findings, and then as far as from the surface visibility into the water is not very good.”

Alexia Jeri, who is from Peru but now lives in Pupu­kea, was sunning on Ke Iki Beach on Sunday as searchers looked for the teens. She said she was also there Friday but didn’t get into the water “because the waves were so much bigger.”

“This is just so sad. Usually when there’s a search like this, it’s visitors who don’t know about the waves,” Jeri said. “I really hope they find them.”