OAN Staff Lillian Mann
10:31 AM – Friday, May 29, 2026
A manhunt for a suspect wanted in relation to the killings of three men within 48 hours, which left a Hawaiian community shaken, has promptly ended, with police announcing that the man was arrested “without incident.”
The extensive search for 36-year-old Jacob Daniel Baker, whom authorities described as “armed and extremely dangerous,” had led Police Chief Reed Mahuna to deploy “significant resources and personnel” to locate him in Pāhoa on Hawaiʻi Island.
Mahuna noted that the search was his “number one priority” following the discovery of the three victims, who were found dead earlier this week on Monday and Tuesday.
The first victim, a 69-year-old man, was found on Monday partially submerged in a cement pond in a residential area. Officials were unsure whether the death was due to a medical emergency or foul play. However, an autopsy on Wednesday confirmed it was a homicide, police added.
Officers discovered the second victim on Tuesday afternoon, just 500 feet away from where the first victim was found, according to Hawaii police captain Jeremy Lewis. The 79-year-old victim appeared to have died by blunt force trauma, according to authorities.
Later on Tuesday night, officers responded to a separate call and found another 69-year-old man about 19 miles from the other two victims, who had sustained fatal injuries.
“We don’t have any connection between the victims, other than the fact that victim number one and number two lived in close proximity to one another,” police said.
“These are a tragic series of events and our thoughts are with those who are grieving at this time,” Mahuna said at a news conference Wednesday. “The Hawaii Police Department understands the fear and concerns incidents like this bring to our community.”
Authorities stated that they have yet to determine the motive behind the killings. However, they are “confident Baker was involved in all three of the murders.” Mahuna did not share how authorities identified Baker as a suspect or what evidence may connect him to the tragic killings.
Notably, two women had sought restraining orders against Baker just days before the three bodies were found. One of the women reported that the alleged killer had made threats against her life and the lives of others, according to Hawaii News Now.
“Jacob Baker has threatened my life, the life of a disabled man, three people currently living on the farm, multiple threats in the past … 3 people are not comfortable in their homes,” the woman wrote in court documents.
Anon Shine, the daughter of one of the victims, said she was left in shock after her father’s death.
“At first I wasn’t sure if it was a joke or it’s just one of those things you don’t feel is possible,” Shine said. “She’s told me the firsthand stories from the other neighbors, and that’s how I found out that it was true.”
“I’m just still really in shock and just going through different waves of emotion and disbelief and sadness, looking at old pictures and just remembering all the good times and just what a light of love he was to so many people,” she told Hawaii News Now.
“These are a tragic series of events and our thoughts are with those who are grieving,” the chief Mahuna said.
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