Aug. 25, 1999

Anne Clarkin doesn’t know whether she’ll get an answer to the question she emblazoned on 2,500 bumper stickers.

“So where’s Peter?”

And in case anyone has forgotten who Peter is — Hilo’s Peter Boy Kema, an 8-year-old child-abuse victim missing since 1997 — the bumper stickers also bear his photo.

Clarkin, coordinator of the Missing Child Center-Hawaii, had the bumper stickers made because she wanted to make a statement.

“I just want people to remember that a child is missing,” she said. “This should not be allowed to happen. Let’s demand that whatever happened to this child be discovered. Anything else is not acceptable.”

Clarkin has followed Peter Boy’s story from the beginning. Even though she has 119 open cases, the details of this one are especially wrenching.

Peter Boy’s parents — Peter Kema Sr. and Jaylin Kema — have said little about their son’s disappearance. But Peter Sr. told police that the last time he saw the boy was in August 1997 when he gave him to an old family friend.

Police have not been able to confirm that the family friend is a real person. And no one has seen Peter Boy. Some family members fear that he is dead.

The Big Island prosecutor’s office received a thick stack of police reports several months ago so it could review the case. Police are still waiting for the results.

Clarkin said she isn’t using the bumper stickers to cast blame on police or the state Child Protection Services agency social workers.

The bumper stickers were printed free as a community service by Peterson Sign Co. Clarkin is giving them out free to anyone with only one catch: They have to go on a bumper, she said. She can be reached at 586-1449.

“Community awareness is always a good thing,” Clarkin said. “That’s why I made the bumper stickers.”

Sept. 25, 1999

First lady Vicky Cayetano has stepped forward to help find missing child abuse victim Peter Boy Kema.

Armed with “So where’s Peter?” bumper stickers from the Missing Child Center-Hawaii, Cayetano will distribute them from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday to drivers who show up at the State Capitol dropoff area on Beretania Street. She’ll even put the sticker on your car.

The goal is to increase public awareness about a case that has stymied Big Island police and prosecutors for more than a year.

The boy’s father, Peter Kema Sr. of Hilo, has told police that he gave custody of his son to an old family friend in August 1997. But detectives have not been able to prove the friend is a real person. Some family members fear that the boy, whose eighth birthday was in May, is dead.

Anne Clarkin, coordinator of the Missing Child Center-Hawaii, had 2,500 bumper stickers made last month. Peterson Sign Co. printed the stickers at no cost as a community service. Clarkin only has 175 left, though, and is hoping a second printing will be ready by Wednesday.

She said she’s thrilled to have the governor’s wife back her cause. “I think she has a special affection for Hawaii’s children. Being a mother, the plight of a missing child has got to affect her,” Clarkin said.

Sept. 10, 1999

Public interest in the fate of Peter Boy Kema is growing as fast as the Missing Child Center-Hawaii can distribute its new bumper sticker.

Yesterday, Victoria Ward Centers requested 2,000 “So where’s Peter?” bumper stickers, joining a cause that includes SIDA taxi drivers, Tradewinds U-drive, the Hawaii Government Employees Association on the Big Island and first lady Vicky Cayetano.

City transportation officials also said 500 poster versions of the bumper sticker can be put in city buses. Center officials do not know if they can afford the posters. Nearly all 5,000 bumper stickers printed so far have been distributed, said Anne Clarkin, coordinator for the center.

The goal of the bumper stickers is to increase public awareness of a case that has stymied Big Island police for more than a year.

The boy’s father, Peter Kema Sr. of Hilo, told police he gave his 6-year-old son to a family friend in August 1997. Detectives have not been able to prove the friend exists.

Big Island police Capt. James Day urged anyone with information to call Lt. Derek Pacheco at 961-2252 or CrimeStoppers at 961-8300.

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