Arizona police still pursue isle girl’s case
Arizona sheriffs are still seeking the man who allegedly sexually assaulted a Hawaii girl at her grandmother’s home in Tucson.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department had released a surveillance video earlier this week of a man who was in the area of the home at the time of the crime.
KVOA-TV in Tucson reported Friday that detectives said they located the man and that he was cooperative. The detectives told the TV station they are moving on to other leads in the case.
Detectives have said a 6-year-old girl from Hawaii was sexually assaulted in the bedroom of her grandmother’s house April 30.
The Arizona Daily Star has reported that court documents state the girl was assaulted while she slept in a room with her two sisters, ages 8 and 10, in a front bedroom of the home.
The Sheriff’s Department said the girls and their mother were visiting their grandparents in the Rincon district on East Mountain Gate Place.
Maui County working to curb axis deer count
Maui County is contending with invasive axis deer that have been reported munching on crops, chewing on pineapples in fields, appearing in hotel lobbies and running around on golf courses.
A county survey shows axis deer are to blame for at least $1 million in damage to farms, ranches and resorts in the last two years, the Maui News reported Friday. But the actual damage is likely greater because not all the farmers and ranchers contacted for information responded to surveys, said Kenneth Yamamura, agricultural specialist in the county Office of Economic Development.
The Maui Axis Deer Working Group is putting together a draft management plan to control the deer population. It’s scheduled to be ready by July, at the start of the fiscal year, so the group can seek funding to combat the problem.
"The deer is widespread on Maui," group member Warren Watanabe told the Hawaii Invasive Species Council. "We’re all being hit."
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources says there were 4,000 to 5,000 deer on parts of Maui last year and about 3,500 to 4,000 on parts of Lanai. There were no estimates available for Molokai.
Kauai blaze takes 9 hours to extinguish
Kauai firefighters put out a fire at a water pumping station off Ko Road in Hanapepe on Friday morning.
The fire began at about 1:30 a.m. and was extinguished by 10:30 a.m. The pumping station is owned by McBryde Resources, the Fire Department said. No injuries were reported.
