LIHU‘E — As a Kaua‘i police officer, Lt. Sherwin Kaleo Perez has dealt with hundreds of crime victims who never have stolen possessions returned to them. So when a lost item falls into the hands of one of the good
LIHU‘E — As a Kaua‘i police officer, Lt. Sherwin Kaleo Perez has dealt with hundreds of crime victims who never have stolen possessions returned to them.
So when a lost item falls into the hands of one of the good guys, and that good guy makes extraordinary efforts to return the item, Perez said it’s worth sharing with the community.
Around midnight Oct. 24, Kainalu “Nalu” Baird, a part-time employee of Hawaiian Airlines, was driving home from a friend’s house when he saw a backpack on the road in Kapa‘a, Perez said in an e-mail.
Baird stopped, picked up the backpack and looked through it to see who it belonged to.
Upon opening the backpack he saw a bank bag with around $1,400 in it, a camera, laptop computer and some personal papers that identified the backpack’s owner as Raymond Keahi, a Kaua‘i Fire Department firefighter and owner of Specialty Liquor in Kapa‘a.
“I thought, ‘Wow, it must be somebody’s hard-earned money,’” Baird said, and tried calling Keahi in the early morning hours of Oct. 25. There was no response.
He called again later that morning, and at around 4:45 p.m. went to Specialty Liquor, where he met Keahi, telling Keahi he had found his backpack in the middle of the road.
Keahi said he realized his backpack was missing when he went to the bank to make a deposit that morning, and repeatedly thanked Baird for his tremendous honesty, integrity and aloha spirit, Perez said.
In addition to the money, laptop and important legal papers, Keahi was most thankful to have the camera returned, as the memory card contains pictures of his son that are very valuable to him.
“I would like to recognize and commend Nalu for displaying such awesome aloha spirit, honesty and compassion for others,” said Perez.
“As a member of the Kaua‘i Police Department and a fellow airline employee of Nalu, I’m proud to recognize Nalu for his outstanding deed and act of kindness, especially in these tough economic times.
“Oftentimes citizens and visitors alike lose property or are victims of a crime, and they never see their valuables again,” said Perez. “This time, the story ends on a positive note. Mahalo to Nalu for a fine job.”
