Lost and found: Spear from Hawaiian King Kamehameha statue

HONOLULU -- Detectives have found the spear that was taken from the statue of King Kamehameha on Hawaii's Big Island.

The top section of the spear held by a likeness of the Hawaiian warrior was reported missing Sunday. Detectives returned to the scene to continue investigating Tuesday when they found the missing spear section in overgrowth on the banks of a channel nearby.

It had been forcibly removed from the structure, police said. Lt. Gregory Esteban declined to reveal how: "That's something only the suspect or suspects would have knowledge of."

Police will examine the spear segment for forensic evidence and then return it to a Kamehameha Schools alumni group, which owns the statue, Esteban said.

Kamehameha I, also called Kamehameha the Great, is known for uniting the Hawaiian islands in 1810. The statue in downtown Hilo near Wailoa State Park is one of several bearing his likeness, including others in downtown Honolulu and in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Kamehameha Day is celebrated in Hawaii on June 11.