33 years after his son went missing in Hawaii, father still holds out hope |
It’s a missing person case unlike any other in Hawaii: In 1993, a 23-year-old hiker flagged down a helicopter on a beach in a remote Molokai valley, wanting help after the trail left his feet blistered and cut.
A state worker stepped out and spoke with him, but said it wasn’t an emergency and denied his request for a lift. A commercial helicopter could return for $650.
The hiker, Jeffrey Zoltowski of Michigan, was never seen again.
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“I hold the state of Hawaii responsible for my son’s disappearance. He wanted help and they didn’t give it to him,” Jeff’s father, Ron Zoltowski, told SFGATE in a phone call from his home in Michigan.
Thirty-three years have now passed. Jeffrey’s mother died in 2005, without knowing what became of her son. His father is still waiting to learn what happened. “It stinks, you know, I could rip someone’s heart out,” said Zoltowski, now 79.
Jeffrey Zoltowski went missing on Molokai in 1993.
Jeffrey Zoltowski’s dad, Ron, describes him as a kind person who smiles with his eyes.
Wailau Valley, where Jeffrey went missing, sits along the rugged north shore of Molokai. The valley’s steep cliffs have long kept the area isolated. The only way to get into the valley is by boat or on foot.
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Don't let Google decide who you trust.
The unofficial Wailau Valley trail is extremely difficult, stretching about 10 miles long, from Kamehameha V Highway on the southern coast, climbing 2,000 feet over the mountains before descending into Wailau Valley and ending at the beach. It’s considered a strenuous hike on an overgrown and unmarked trail.
On an island that attracts relatively few visitors, even fewer attempt the hike. Still, the remote area has a history of rescues and missing people, a detail which is usually absent from guidebooks and blogs.
From Michigan to Molokai
An outdoor enthusiast, Jeffrey left Michigan in January 1993 for a monthslong trip to Hawaii that began on Oahu. His plan was to return home to Michigan on May 16. “It was an unused ticket,” Zoltowski said.
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On Oahu, Jeffrey camped and worked around the island for 49 days, eventually befriending members of a local Hare Krishna temple. He would regularly call his family, and on March 21, he called his dad to say he’d be on Molokai for two weeks.
“He was upbeat, he was like, ‘I can’t wait. I wish you were here. It’s beautiful, it’s exciting,’” Zoltowski said of the phone call. He described Jeffrey as a kind person, who “smiles with his eyes” and likes helping others. “My biggest fear as a parent was that he went by himself.”
On the beach at........