15-year-old Girl Kidnapped From Beach At Knifepoint Escapes With Good Samaritan's Help

A 15-year-old girl, who was kidnapped by a masked man on a Hawaii beach, convinced her abductor to take her to a restaurant and was rescued with the help of a Good Samaritan.

Duncan Kealoha Mahi, 52, is accused of kidnapping the victim, Mikella Lani Debina, from Anaeho'omalu Bay near Lava Lava Beach Club on Friday.

Mikella was with her boyfriend when they were approached by the accused, who was wearing a mask and was armed with a knife.

"He had my niece tie up her boyfriend, blindfold him, and then took her," Mikella's aunt, Laurene Debina, told Hawaii News Now.

Mikella was reported missing at around 1:30 p.m. Friday, and officials issued an AMBER Alert.

Investigators managed to detect a signal from the teenager's cellphone Friday night near the Kona airport about 20 miles away from where she was abducted, Laurene told the outlet. However, officials only found Mikella's bag with her clothes at the location, she added.

The air and ground search for Mikella went on for nearly 20 hours and came to an end after she was spotted at a restaurant in Downtown Hilo.

"Mikella convinced the guy to take her to Café Pesto to get her something to eat," her mother said in a statement. "He told her to stay in the car and she got out, and he tried to scuffle with her..."

Bridge Hartman, an employee at the restaurant, saw the struggle between Mikella and Mahi.

Hartman said Mahi and the teen walked to the host stand for a table twice and eventually began arguing.

"I realize then they started tussling. I was like, 'Wait, what's happening?' It just wasn't connecting," Hartman told Hawaii News Now. "Then, I realized it was her. And I yelled out, 'That's the girl. That's the AMBER Alert girl.'"

"She got away from him like just for like a brief moment," Hartman continued. "And I was able to grab her in time. And I rushed her into our back [sic] of our restaurant."

"All of a sudden I can hear a girl screaming, 'Help, help, leave me alone,'" an artist named Dragonfly, who was in the area at the time, told the outlet. "And then here comes this guy dragging her."

Mahi tried to convince bystanders that the teenager was his daughter, but Mikella said the man kidnapped her, according to Hartman's account.

"She was saying, 'He kidnapped me, he kidnapped me. Thank you,'" Hartman added.

"When I looked at her, it looked like a man and a woman fighting," Kori Takaki, who was at the restaurant with her mother at the time, told the outlet. "But she was wearing men's clothing and I thought, 'That's strange. She doesn't look like she's wearing her own clothes.'"

Cops arrived at the scene, and Mikella was later reunited with her family.

"We're feeling so blessed," Laureen told Big Island Now. "Elated. We're so thankful for the community that had a hand in bringing her back. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Mahi escaped but was eventually located and arrested in Hilo.