Law enforcement agencies sweep condemned Uncle Billy’s Hilo Bay Hotel at dawn
Three law enforcement agencies with 15 officers conducted a sweep at dawn of the condemned Uncle Billy’s Hilo Bay Hotel, where people had been living, but found no one.
Officers from the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement, Hawaii County Police Department and the Sheriffs Division went through the Hilo hotel’s 146 rooms and found evidence of squatters.
They uncovered trash, clothing and bedding scattered everywhere, and graffiti scrawled on the walls and doors, DLNR said in a news release.
People, who had been living there, had been notified of the sweep.
DLNR’s Land Division has jurisdiction over the property, which had been condemned by the county for its unsafe condition.
The Land Division is soliciting interest from developers to renovate salvageable buildings and to demolish those beyond repair, DLNR said.
A private security company will be providing round-the-clock security.
DLNR’s land agent for the island said he found homeless persons living on the property, who threw things at him.