MISSING: Sequoya Vargas
On August 22,1993, a 16-year-old Indigenous girl from Hilo, Hawaii went out with a man she had met earlier in the day and never came home. He and two other men drugged her, sexually assaulted her and beat her. They drove her to a nearby state park and tossed her off a 20-foot cliff. But despite all this, when her family reported her missing, police wrote her off as a runaway teen.
Years later, one of her killers confessed to her grisly murder and the torture she was put through. But her body has never been found. Her family has never been given the closure they need and deserve.
Photo of Sequoya
Richard Damian Serrano
Mackenzie State Park- Island of Hawaii
If you have any information concerning Sequoya’s case, please contact: Hawaii County Police Department at phone number 808-935-3311.
Resources
Gifted research fromCharlie from Crimelines Podcast
https://sexoffenders.ehawaii.gov/sexoffender/resources/A0740768__QA.pdf
http://archives.starbulletin.com/1999/09/11/news/story3.html
http://archives.starbulletin.com/2000/04/28/news/story6.html
Mom backs son's murder testimony: 'Jason said Heaven was crying'
http://archives.starbulletin.com/2000/05/09/news/story5.html
Serrano jurors report threats; potential new witness emerges
http://archives.starbulletin.com/2000/05/12/news/story5.html
http://archives.starbulletin.com/2000/06/20/news/story7.html