Masayuki Kubo

Kubo, circa 2001

  • Missing Since 06/23/2001
  • Missing From Honolulu, Hawaii
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Male
  • Race Asian
  • Age 80 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'7, 165 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry Description A white t-shirt, blue jeans and white sneakers.
  • Medical Conditions Kubo suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Without his medication, he may become violent.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Asian male. Gray hair, brown eyes.

Details of Disappearance

Kubo left his condominium on Kapi'olani Boulevard in Honolulu, Hawaii at 7:30 a.m. on June 23, 2001. He carried a state identification card, a bus pass, and $10 in cash. He said he was going for a walk. He liked to take walks and sometimes took two or three a day. He usually went to Kakaako Waterfront Park to watch the fishermen.

His wife heard him get up and get ready to go, but she was sleepy and did not ask where he was going. When she got out of bed to make breakfast, he had not returned. Kubo has never been heard from again.

On two prior incidents, Kubo had gone for a walk and become disoriented. The first time was on Mother's Day 1991, when he fell while walking and had to be assisted home by a neighbor. Another time, two months before his June 2001 disappearance, Kubo wandered all the way to Kapi'olani Park in Waikiki while on what was supposed to be a short walk.

At 1:00 a.m. the day after Kubo's disappearance, he was seen in the lobby of Ohana Maile Sky Court Hotel on Kuhio Avenue in the Chinatown neighborhood of Honolulu. He told a security guard that his name was Masa, and gave him a phone number which turned out to be disconnected. He said Kubo seemed slightly confused.

The guard claims he put Kubo in a taxicab, possibly a Sida cab, destined for the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort, and did not recognize him until later when he saw Kubo's missing-person flier. The security guard could not positively identify the cab he put Kubo in, and inquiries to local cab companies failed to divine any information on either Kubo or the vehicle.

Another security guard at Kukui Plaza in downtown Honolulu may have seen Kubo later that day. The man matching Kubo's description stopped to look at the food in a Korean restaurant on Bishop Street. He appeared to be tired and dirty. This sighting, however, is unconfirmed. There were also many possible sightings in the Chinatown area of Honolulu but they turned out to be only a man who only bore a strong resemblance to Kubo.

Authorities do not suspect foul play in Kubo's disappearance. They believe he may still be alive, possibly either on the streets or in the company of a kind stranger who decided to care for him. Kubo is a retired Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) construction engineer. His case is unsolved.

Investigating Agency

  • Honolulu Police Department 529-3394

Updated 1 time since October 12, 2004. Last updated May 7, 2021; picture added pdated.