This is a list of what’s probably the rarest racial classification on Charley: those of “Pacific Islander” descent. It’s a pretty gray area anyway, exactly what constitutes a Pacific Islander, but here’s my best shot. (I’ve decided Filipinos don’t count, btw.)
Edward Ryan Makua Hanai Aikau, disappeared from Hawaii. Although I haven’t seen anything specifically saying so, I’d be willing to bet he’s at least partly of Pacific Islander descent, probably native Hawaiian.
Robert Amaral, missing from Hawaii. He’s of native Hawaiian descent, and also part Portuguese and part Chinese.
Brian Roy Barton, disappeared from Washington. He’s biracial, of white and Pacific Islander descent, but that’s all I know. He was adopted, grew up in California and didn’t find out about the adoption until he was an adult. (The adoption experts now say that’s a bad idea and you should let the kid know as early on as possible.)
Junaliza Oroc Chappell. It’s kind of hard to tell where she went missing from; she was in an unspecified Florida airport and planned to fly to Atlanta, Georgia and then drive to California for a new job. (Traveling to California by way of Atlanta doesn’t make a lot of sense, but I don’t know the details there.) I have the place of disappearance listed as just Florida, but it’s the Atlanta police that are investigating. Anyway, Junaliza’s of unspecified Pacific Islander descent.
Stuart Isaac, disappeared from Wyoming. He is a native of the Republic of Palau. Like all Pacific Island nations, it’s tiny and far away from anywhere. Palau’s total population is noticeably less than that of the rural Ohio country where I was born and raised. The nearest country is the Philippines, nearly 1,000 miles away. Incidentally, for my Around the World Challenge book for Palau, I selected Being a Palauan by H.G. Barnett, an anthropological study of Palau in the 1940s and 1950s. I would have preferred a book by an actual Palauan, or at least one that gave a more recent study of the country, but my choices were very limited. (If anyone knows of any other Palauan books, feel free to name them in the comments section.)
Jeannette Kamahele, disappeared from California, said to be of native Hawaiian descent.
Fran Uilani Kaniho, missing from Hawaii. Of native Hawaiian and Portugese descent.
Gordon Kealoha, disappeared from Hawaii. No other info on his ancestry.
Peter J. Kema Jr., disappeared from Hawaii. Very tragic case, as regular readers of my blog will know; I’ve spoken of him several times before. He’s got Spanish, Chinese and Filipino ancestry as well as native Hawaiian.
Roxanne Lacson, missing from Hawaii. She has native Hawaiian, Chinese and Filipino ancestry.
Faloma Luhk and her sister Maleina Quitugua Luhk, who disappeared from the Northern Mariana Islands, probably the most obscure U.S. territory. The Northern Marianas are just slightly further away from Palau than the Philippines are.
Marlo Keolalani Moku, disappeared from Hawaii and of native Hawaiian descent.
Kenny Manuel Naidas Jr., disappeared from Kentucky. He’s of Guamanian descent, Guam being another U.S. territory noted for its naval base. Michael has a branch of his family that’s in the Navy and lives in Guam.
Roseline Pawai, missing from Hawaii, and of native Hawaiian descent.
Devinee Maria Priscilla Pingul, missing from Nevada. She’s biracial, of mixed Hispanic and Pacific Islander descent. Beyond that I have no details.
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