Peter Boy’s mother asks for help
April 27, 1998 The mother of Peter Kema Jr. issued a plea last night for information about her missing 6-year-old son or the woman she says is caring for him. Speaking for the first time since her son’s disappearance became the focus of intense media attention across Hawaii last week, Jaylin Kema told The Advertiser she believes that the woman who allegedly took charge of her son does exist. Peter Kema Sr., the boy’s father, told police he gave his son to a woman he identified as Auntie Rose Makuakane last August at Aala Park in Honolulu. He said he ran out of money and was afraid he could no longer take care of the boy. Police say they have found no evidence that Makuakane exists. Last week, police took Kema to Aala Park to retrace his steps, and they released a sketch of Auntie Rose based on information from Kema. “If anybody sees Auntie Rose or sees Peter Boy, bring Peter Boy to the nearest authorities or (Department of Human Services) offices,” Jaylin Kema, 28, said in a brief phone interview from her Hilo home. After questions were raised about the safety of the Kemas’ other three children, Child Protective Services employees took them into protective custody and placed them in foster care last week. Jaylin Kema said she last saw her children Friday, when she was allowed to visit them. “It was hard to let them go,” she said. Although relatives told social workers they had not seen Peter Boy for as long as 18 months, Big Island police said they were not notified by Child Protective Services until January that the boy was missing. The agency has said it notified police last summer.
Grandparents share heavy burden of grief
April 27, 1998
Advertiser Library Photo James and Yolanda Acol are clinging to hope, trying to be strong for Peter Kema Jr., wherever he is today. They have not seen their grandson, the 6-year-old they also call Peter Boy or Pepe, in 17 months. Even before Big Island police opened a missing-persons investigation in January, the Acols feared something was terribly wrong. They have never believed what Peter’s parents told the family as far back as last summer: That Peter Kema Sr. gave the boy to an Oahu woman, an “auntie” who would take care of him, and that their daughter, Jaylin, allowed it to happen. Police so far have said there is no evidence of a crime in connection with Peter’s disappearance. Police say neither Peter Sr. nor Jaylin Kema is being treated as a suspects. “We just don’t know what to think right now,” said James Acol. “It is really frustrating and scary, and we’re hurt. We don’t know what to expect. Should we prepare ourselves for the worst? What do we do? We don’t know what to do.” What they know, for sure, rattles them. In August 1991, when he was 3 months old, Peter was taken from his parents by Child Protective Services because of suspicious injuries, including a broken leg and evidence of extensive previous skeletal damage. A Big Island Family judge sent Peter and two older siblings — also victims of alleged child abuse — to live with the Acols in Kona . The Acols raised the children until the summer of 1995, when they were returned to Peter and Jaylin Kema. By October the case was closed. The Acols prayed for the best. A year later, relatives stopped seeing Peter with the rest of his family. The months spun by until last summer, when family reports of abuse and concern prompted Child Protective Services to check up on Peter. While social workers made several visits to Peter’s home and spoke repeatedly with his parents, the child’s whereabouts remained a mystery. After media coverage over the last week, police received calls from the public about the case, but none led them to Peter Boy. The emotional pendulum for the Acols has swung from hope to dread, back and forth. They have thrown themselves into their work. James Acol, 55, is a painter at Royal Kona Resort; Yolanda Acol, 51, delivers produce for Suisan Co. “I have a mean feeling something bad is happening. . . .” Yolanda Acol said, her words suspended in a moment of silence. “But I won’t accept it until I know.” The Acols said they have thought the unthinkable — that Peter is dead. And they have imagined other things — that he is living with a stranger, feeling abandoned and terrified. After the children were returned to Peter and Jaylin Kema, who live 100 miles away in Hilo, the Acols say contact with their grandchildren dwindled to nothing. At first they thought this was a natural reaction by their daughter, who was never happy that they had gained temporary custody of the children. “We thought, just give her time and space and she will have the kids call,” Yolanda Acol said. “Then she started moving, and we didn’t know how to contact her. At one point we went hunting for them and couldn’t find them.” The Acols were not frantic. Other relatives near Hilo said they would see all the children. “It was just that we wanted to talk to the kids,” Yolanda Acol said. “To see them.” Then they saw little Peter in November 1996 at his aunt’s funeral. “His hand was wrapped up and he had on long sleeves,” she said. “So we asked Jaylin what happened. She said he fell from a tree.” The boy said the same, but Yolanda Acol said nobody believed him. Instead, she said, they thought he was afraid. And then he dropped off the radar. Even when it was time to celebrate his birthday, Peter and his parents didn’t surface. “Here we thought we were doing a darn good job raising him, but here they take him back to her and look what happens,” James Acol said. “We love her, she’s our daughter. She was the apple of my eye, you know? My daughter. It is very frustrating.” He has thought about the fact that Peter Kema Sr. told police he brought the child to Aala Park and then gave him to an Auntie Rose Makuakane — a woman police say may not exist. Acol said he doesn’t know what to believe, but he knows a father’s anger. “You just don’t dump him off and leave him,” Acol said. “Not your son. Not your first-born son.” [ top ] |
