Police seeking information after child's fingers found in trash bin

Trash bin located at Kukui Garden Housing Complex.

LILIHA (HawaiiNewsnow) - Honolulu police and CrimeStoppers are asking for the public's help after human fingers were found in a trash bin at the Kukui Gardens affordable rental housing complex in Liliha last month.

Children living at Kukui Gardens used the same word to describe how they feel after learning that a child's fingers were found in this dumpster at their housing complex.

"Scared," Renee Wong, 12 years old, said.

"I'm so scared without adults," Michaela Navarro, 12 years old, said. "Yeah, I'm scared."

"Scared and not going to trash can ever," Emily Wong, 12 years old, said.

A police source says a woman who was dumpster diving February 12th for items to recycle came across a bag and thought the contents were something she could eat, possibly ginger root, so she took the bag home. Upon closer inspection, she realized they might be fingers and notified police.

"Twenty-five years in the department, I've not seen something like this where we've just found partial," Sgt. Kim Buffett, Crimestoppers, said.

Lab tests determined the fingers belonged to someone under the age of 10, possibly as young as two years old.

"I have chicken skin," Noelani Dilyard, Kukui Gardens resident, said. "It's creepy. It really is."

The dumpster is located near a playground.

"Right now maybe I never let them go out because, you know, scary," Monimer Serna, Kukui Gardens resident and Navarro's mother, said.

Police say the person who made the discovery is not a suspect. After interviewing area residents and cross-checking with missing persons reports, investigators say they have hit a wall.

"We're really heavily relying on the public out there to come forward," Buffett said. "Somebody has to know something. I mean, it's not normal to find fingers in a dumpster."

If you have any information about this case, call Crimestoppers at 955-8300.