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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, February 12, 2010

Body found in burned car was that of missing Big Island man

Advertiser Staff

The city Department of the Medical Examiner has identified Fumihiko Okuda, of Waikoloa on the Big Island, as the motorist who was killed Saturday night in a one-car accident near Yokohama Bay on Oahu.

Okuda, 69, was last seen Feb. 3 when he left the Big Island to travel to Honolulu. He did not check into his hotel room on Oahu and had not been seen nor heard from since leaving the Big Island.

The 7:26 p.m. Wai'anae Coast crash occurred near Hercules Rock, a popular spot for swimmers to jump into the ocean. The place is at 81-601 Farrington Highway, east of Satellite Tracking Station Road, near Yokohama Bay.

The blue, four-door 2009 Nissan in which Okuda’s body was found belonged to Enterprise Rent-A-Car, police said. It went over a seaside cliff, landed upside down on the rocks at the shore below and burst into flames, they said.

The cause of Okuda's death was determined to be smoke inhalation and thermal injuries due to the car fire. Authorities have yet to determine whether Okuda’s death was accidental, a homicide or a suicide.

Police earlier this week issued an appeal for the public’s help in finding Okuda.