2 Samaritans Rescued An Abducted Teen from Captor at Restaurant

A Hawaii teen who police say was abducted at knifepoint Friday was rescued the very next day by a man and a woman who recognized her and stepped in to help.

Mikella Debina, 15, found herself very lucky when two good samaritans recognized her from news media and decided to save her from her captor.

After binding her boyfriend, investigators said Mahi led Debina through a wooded area and across nearby lava fields to a car in the beach parking area. Mahi forced Debina into a white Honda SUV and had her put on a disguise consisting of a black hat and a black disposable mask.

While driving to his home, investigators say Mahi forced Debina to smoke methamphetamine and then sexually assaulted her. After the assault, investigators say Mahi made Debina smoke meth again. Debina told investigators she pretended to sleep for the rest of the trip.

Once the two arrived at the property, investigators say Mahi led Debina to a yellow school bus he had parked behind the main house on the property. Inside the school bus, Mahi attached a brown fabric cuff to Debina’s leg and tightened it with pliers so she could not take it off. The shackle was connected to a cable that was attached to the bus, allowing Debina only about three and a half feet of movement.

Sometime during the night, Mahi allowed Debina to take a shower and brush her teeth. The next day, Debina convinced Mahi to take her to Café Pesto where she made her escape.

Local news outlets reporting on Debina’s alleged kidnapping ran photos of the abducted teen, and a MAILE AMBER Alert was issued.

On Saturday, the captor walked into Cafe Pesto in Hilo with Debina looking for a table and Bridge Hartman, the restaurant host, knew something wasn’t right.

When Debina, who was dressed in men’s clothing, started to fight with the man, it clicked for Hartman. “I yelled out, ‘That’s the girl. That’s the Amber Alert girl,'” he recalled.

While she was escaping, a witness told police he heard screaming and yelling coming from the alleyway by Café Pesto. The witness told investigators he saw Debina and Mahi come around the corner, and he heard Debina shouting at Mahi to stay away from her and let her go. The two struggled but Debina managed to break free. When Mahi chased after her, the witness said he intervened.

While attempting to stop Mahi, the witness said that Mahi said “That’s my daughter. What the f*** are you doing? Get out of my way!”

While the witness was confronting Mahi, a second man sitting on the sidewalk nearby replied, “That’s the girl in the news!”

Kori Takaki, who was having lunch at the restaurant, also sprung into action. Along with Hartman, she helped rush Debina to the back of the restaurant and away from the suspect, 52-year-old Duncan Mahi.

Meanwhile, someone had already called 911, and Hartman urged restaurant patrons nearby to grab onto Mahi as he and Takaki moved the girl to safety.

Mahi ran to his car and drove off. However, before Mahi could get away, a witness managed to pull out his phone and take several photos of Mahi’s car, a white Honda CRV, and captured photos of his license plate number.

Both the witness and Debina later identified Mahi in a photo lineup. Mahi was arrested on Sept. 17 around 3 p.m. on Hale Manu Drive in Hilo.

Mahi was charged with two counts of kidnapping, and single counts of first-degree sex assault, terroristic threatening, robbery, and meth trafficking.

Mahi is being held on $2 million bail. He is scheduled to appear for his preliminary hearing in Kona District Court on Wednesday, Sept. 21.

Mikella’s mother, Cher Angelel, said the two were heroes for helping her daughter in her time of need. She shutters at the thought that things could have ended differently if it wasn’t for their braveness.