Nebraska man missing in Hawaii

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska man has been reported missing after he did not return home as expected on May 25 after a camping trip to the Hawaiian island of Kauai.

Twenty-three-year-old Samuel Joseph Martinez had been studying microbiology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln before he flew to Kauai on May 12 with plans to spend nearly two weeks hiking and camping.

His father, Ted Martinez, said Saturday the family hasn’t heard from Samuel Martinez since a few hours after he landed on the island. Samuel Martinez had eight permits to camp at different locations around Kauai.

Ted Martinez said the family, which lives in North Bend, Nebraska, filed a missing persons report with Lincoln Police on Wednesday a day after Samuel Martinez missed his flight home.

Ted Martinez said that police on Kauai are planning to begin a search for his son on Sunday, and hikers are being asked to watch out for him.