News Release

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park continues to seek tips on person of interest in art theft

The brightly colored mahiole, Hawaiian helmet artwork, stolen from Volcano House hotel

Photo/Volcano House

News Release Date: January 27, 2023

Contact: Jessica Ferracane, 808-985-6018

HAWAIʻI VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK, Hawai’i – National Park Service investigators continue to seek the public’s help in identifying a person of interest wanted for questioning in the theft of Hawaiian cultural artwork from a hotel located in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. 

On Friday, Jan. 13 around 11:45 p.m., a contemporary replica of a mahiole (traditional Hawaiian feather helmet) was stolen from the Volcano House hotel. An image from a hotel surveillance camera shows a person carrying a large item beneath a red cloth in front of the hotel’s front desk. The person of interest appears to be a man wearing a dark ball cap and bandana face covering.  

A woman seen in a separate surveillance image reached out to investigators and is no longer a person of interest.  

The stolen mahiole was created by renowned local artist Rick San Nicolas, who sold it to the hotel several years ago. Traditional mahiole were worn by high-ranking Hawaiian chiefs and painstakingly crafted using feathers and native fibers such as the roots of the ‘ie ‘ie vine. It was displayed in a clear case near the hotel’s front desk and featured brightly dyed crimson and yellow goose feathers. 

Anyone with information is asked to contact the National Park Service by calling or texting 888-653-0009. Tips can also be submitted online at https://go.nps.gov/SubmitATip or via email at e-mail us.