A body found on the Waianae Coast has been identified as that of 29-year-old Ivanice "Ivy" Harris, who was last seen early Thursday morning in Waikiki.
The Honolulu medical examiner’s office has deferred the cause and manner of death pending further investigation, and a date of death has not been provided.
Harris’ friend Jillian Gibides said police called her Tuesday afternoon with the news.
"They wouldn’t tell me very much," she said, crying. "It’s so surreal."
Gibides said Monday that Harris worked as an escort and had arrived in Hawaii on May 7.
"It does not matter what she did for a living or anything else, whether she was a working girl or not," Gibides said Tuesday, adding that it angers her that she is being bad-mouthed.
"All that matters is to find out who killed my girlfriend," she said.
Harris, who was from Portland, Ore., lived in Las Vegas, according to her Facebook page, which shows a picture of her smiling as she stood on a beach, posted May 15.
Police are continuing to investigate the death, but had not reclassified the case yesterday from an unattended death since the cause of death has not yet been determined, said Honolulu police spokeswoman Michelle Yu.
Harris’ body was found Monday along a cliff on the Makaha side of Yokohama Bay by a passer-by, and police got the call to investigate at 6:30 p.m.
Gibides said she and Harris had been planning to celebrate Harris’ 29th birthday Saturday.
Harris was last seen between 2 and 2:15 a.m. Thursday outside a pub in Waikiki near the corner of Lewers Street and Kalakaua Avenue, and was planning to meet someone at a hotel apartment, Gibides said.
Police issued a CrimeStoppers bulletin Friday saying Harris was last seen speaking to an unknown man outside a Waikiki bar.
Police said they planned to review surveillance video from the area where she was last seen.
Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or *CRIME on a cellphone.
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Star-Advertiser reporter Gary T. Kubota contributed to this report.
