April 13, 1999

HILO, Hawaii — Big Island authorities expect to present evidence to a grand jury within the next several months on the 1997 disappearance of 6-year-old Peter Kema Jr.

Police recently presented a report summarizing their investigation to the Hawaii County Prosecutor’s Office, which is preparing to bring the case before a grand jury, people familiar with the investigation said.

“This has been a very active case, and we are hoping for a conclusion in the near future,” Assistant Police Chief Wendell Paiva said yesterday.

“Peter Boy” was last seen in February 1997. The boy’s father, Peter Kema Sr., said they both traveled to Oahu in August 1997 and, in a moment of desperation, he gave Peter Boy away to a distant relative because he didn’t have money to care for him.

It was not until January 1998 that police were told that the boy was missing.

Both Peter Sr. and Jaylin Kema, the boy’s parents, have declined to speak publicly about their missing son for almost two years.

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