Police seek missing 14-year-old last seen in Fern Acres

Hawaii Island police were asking residents in Fern Acres and across Puna to keep an eye out for 14-year-old Herman Kirklin, who was last seen at 1 a.m. on May 31 near Lehua Street in the Fern Acres subdivision. He is 6-foot-5, about 180 pounds, African-American, with a medium brown complexion, short curly black hair and brown eyes, a description that makes him especially easy to spot in the lower Puna area.

The Hawaii Police Department said anyone who sees Kirklin or knows where he is should call the department’s non-emergency line at 808-935-3311. The notice did not point to foul play and described the case as a runaway report, but police were still trying to confirm his whereabouts and whether he was safe.

By the time the alert was issued June 6, Kirklin had been missing for nearly a week. That timing made the case more urgent for people in Fern Acres, Mountain View, Pāhoa and the surrounding districts, where a sighting late at night or early in the morning could be the difference between a quick recovery and a longer search.

This was not the first time the same teen had been the subject of a police runaway notice in the same broad Puna corridor. On Feb. 29, 2024, police said 12-year-old Herman Kirklin of Mountain View had last been seen on Lehua Street in Mountain View on the evening of Feb. 26, 2024.

Police later reported that Kirklin was located in Pāhoa on March 7, 2024 and was in good health. That earlier case gave added context to the current alert, which again centered on Lehua Street and the need for residents to pass along any credible information quickly.

For families, neighbors and school communities in lower Puna, the key details remain the same: a very tall 14-year-old, last seen near Lehua Street in Fern Acres shortly after midnight on May 31, with no public indication of a crime. Any new information that helps narrow his location could bring the search to an end.