HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
SOUTH HILO PATROL DIVISION
SERGEANT BURTON H. YAMAGUCHI
PHONE: 961-2311
JULY 6, 2003
H-55090
MEDIA RELEASE
Police and fire personnel found a badly burned body in the charred remains of a Hilo residence Sunday (July 6, 2003) after extinguishing a structure fire.
The body was so badly burned that the sex, age and identity of the victim could not be immediately determined.
Responding to a 6:53 a.m. report of a structure fire, police and fire units arrived at 66 Makakai Place in the Honolii Lookout area to find a residence fully engulfed in flames.
After fire personnel extinguished the blaze, police and firefighters found the body in the lower level of the structure.
Police have ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death and identity of the victim.
Firefighters are conducting an investigation into the cause of the blaze.
South Hilo patrol officers have turned over an investigation into the death of the victim to the Hilo Criminal Investigation Section.
There was no immediate estimate of damages to the residence, although it was described as a total loss.
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