KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii (AP) - Police are confirming that human remains found on a vacant lot belong to a Kailua-Kona musician who had been missing since Thanksgiving.
Big Island police say dental records confirm that the remains found in South Kohala on Monday belong to 37-year-old Robert Keawe Lopaka Ryder. Police say he was murdered.
Ryder’s family reported him missing on Jan. 17, saying that they had not heard from him since Thanksgiving.
An autopsy reveals the cause of death was blunt-force trauma to the head and that it was a homicide.
Hawaii News Now reports Ryder was a traveling musician, often seen playing his ukulele and as he performed along the West Hawaii coast.
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