Featured Image Credit: Family handout
Topics: Hawaii, Reddit, World News
Ellie Kemp
A hiker who claims to have heard the screams of a teenage boy who went missing 10 years ago said they could 'never explain the feeling' of hearing such a chilling cry.
Daylenn Pua, 17, set out to hike a remote area of Oʻahu, Hawaii, to see his grandmother, but was never seen again after vanishing on February 27, 2015.
The boy had decided to tackle the Haiku Stairs - also known as the 'Stairway to Heaven'- and even sent photos to his grandma mid-hike.
Daylenn's grandmother had warned him about the dangerous Haiku Stairs, as the 'steep and continuous' pathway had been closed to the public and attempting to climb them was considered trespassing.
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The steps were built in World War Two to provide access to a top-secret US Navy radio station hidden in Haiku Valley.
The path consisted of '3,922 steps across the Ko'olau range,' but were 'weathered and sometimes not trustworthy.'
However, the teen went anyway, eager to climb the staircase leading to 'easily the best views across Oahu.'
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An eerie post to social media the day before the hike saw Daylenn asking followers to wish him 'luck' on the trip.
Alas, Daylenn has never been seen again, while his grandmother was left only with several photographs he sent her from during his hike.
Hawaii News Now reported that rescuers had focused their search on a narrow ridge based on a cry for help heard by two hikers.
And a Reddit user who claimed to be hiking the day the teen went missing said they heard haunting screams from the stairs.
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Posting under the username 'Dclandry’, they wrote: “I could never explain to you the feeling I felt when you hear a cry like that. The hiker did not trust pass and go up the stairs. By the looks of the photographs, he didn't even make it to the stairs.”
They continued: “The wind died just a tad and we heard 'I'm down here!' My friend and I both stopped in our tracks and started screaming for him. It was not the rescuers. The voice was different than the calls from the rescuers. I immediately called 911 again.
“We stayed up there for about another hour without moving to try and listen for him again. The wind was so bad and the clouds are starting to roll in so it was hard to hear anything.”
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US navy drones were sent to try and find any sign of Daylenn and search parties were conducted, but tragically, neither the teen nor his phone or backpack were located.
There are two main theories as to what happened - one a result of a photograph the teen sent to his grandmother.
If you zoom in on the image, you can spot a figure of someone - or something—seemingly crouching in the undergrowth.
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Another possible explanation is that Daylenn slipped and fell. Rescue teams searching for the teen reported slipping and falling themselves despite being experienced hikers.
It remains unknown what happened to Daylenn even nearly 10 years on since he vanished. He would've been almost 27-years-old today.
The Haiku Stairs are now reportedly in the process of being dismantled and removed.