Remains found off North Shore identified as missing teen, HPD says
COURTESY CRIMESTOPPERS
Joseph Fujioka
Police confirmed today that remains found about 200 yards off Oahu’s North Shore were of Joseph “Joey” Fujioka, one of two teenagers who went missing last weekend.
Fujioka, 18, and 17-year-old Samantha Chun were the subject of a multiagency four-day search after they didn’t return home Friday night following an evening on the North Shore. The ocean search for the two missing Mililani teenagers was suspended at sunset Tuesday.
The remains were discovered in the water off Ke Iki Beach on Saturday afternoon.
“On January 23, 2025, at approximately 8:00 p.m., the HPD Scientific Investigation Section Forensic Biology Unit confirmed that the profile obtained from the recovered tissues matched the DNA profile of Joseph Fujioka. HPD has notified his family,” the Honolulu Police Department said this morning in a news release.
The teens were last seen purchasing items at a Mililani convenience store around 9:54 p.m. Friday.
The water conditions on the North Shore from Friday night into Saturday morning were large and dangerous, with waves ranging from 30 to 40 feet.
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The U.S. Coast Guard was notified about the missing teens around 11 a.m. Saturday morning after Fujioka’s mother found his and Chun’s belongings on the beach.
At a news conference earlier this week, Honolulu Police Lt. Deena Thoemmes said HPD was investigating.
“We do know that on Friday, Jan. 17, just after 9 p.m., Joseph left his home to pick up his girlfriend, Samantha, from her home in Mililani,” Thoemmes said. “At about 9:47 p.m. they went to the Aloha Gas station on Kipapa Drive, and then they arrived at the beach around 10:30 p.m. Joseph parked his vehicle, a 2012 silver Toyota Corolla, on Ke Iki Road, and the vehicle was later found locked and secured.”
According to Thoemmes, Fujioka and Chun set up a blanket on the beach near where they parked, and their belongings were recovered from the area.
Based on the location of Fujioka’s phone, his family determined that the phone ran out of battery power at 11:06 p.m., with the last recorded location at the beach.
