Seventeen-year-old female Samantha Chun was last seen on January 17, 2025, in the Pupukea/Haleiwa area of Oahu’s North Shore, Hawaii, after going to Ke Iki Beach with her boyfriend, 18-year-old Joseph “Joey” Fujioka. Public missing-child and missing-person listings identify Samantha as a Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and Asian teen with brown hair and brown eyes, about 5 feet 3 inches tall and 125 pounds. Her case is associated with the Honolulu Police Department, and the attached case data lists the last known location as Pupukea, Honolulu County, Hawaii, with the date of last contact as January 17, 2025. Public reports say Samantha and Joey were last known to have been together on a date that night, with one account placing them at an Aloha gas station in Mililani at about 9:54 p.m. before they traveled to Ke Iki Beach near Shark’s Cove.
By the next morning, the concern around Samantha and Joey had turned urgent. Family members found personal belongings at Ke Iki Beach, and reports said Joey’s vehicle was also located nearby. The scene suggested the teens had reached the beach and left items behind, but it did not explain what had happened after that. Authorities and family members faced an especially troubling uncertainty because the ocean conditions on Oahu’s North Shore were described as extremely dangerous that night, with reports noting waves in the 30-to-40-foot range or 40-foot face range. Officials did not immediately know whether Samantha and Joey had entered the water, and public reports also noted that foul play had not been ruled out while the investigation continued.
A large search followed across land, sea, and air. The U.S. Coast Guard and partner agencies searched for several days, with the Coast Guard later saying crews had covered 2,321 square nautical miles over more than 54 combined hours before making the difficult decision to suspend the active search. During the search effort, human remains were found about 200 yards offshore from Ke Iki Beach on January 18, 2025. At first, authorities had not publicly confirmed whether the remains were connected to Samantha or Joey, adding another layer of anguish for the families waiting for answers.
On January 23, 2025, Honolulu police confirmed through forensic DNA testing that the remains recovered offshore matched Joseph “Joey” Fujioka. Public reporting from Hawaiʻi Public Radio, Spectrum News, and Surfer stated that Joey’s family was notified after the DNA match, while Samantha remained missing. Those reports described the discovery as part of the same search connected to the teens’ disappearance from Ke Iki Beach, but they did not report that Samantha had been found.
Samantha’s disappearance remains a deeply painful case shaped by a brief evening outing, a dangerous stretch of ocean, and unanswered questions about what happened after she and Joey reached the beach. She was a 17-year-old girl last seen on January 17, 2025, in the Pupukea/Haleiwa area after going to Ke Iki Beach with Joey Fujioka; their belongings were found the next day, Joey’s remains were later identified offshore, and Samantha was never found. The available public record presents the case as an unresolved missing-person investigation centered on Ke Iki Beach, the rough North Shore surf that night, and the continued need for information that could help explain Samantha Chun’s final known movements and bring clarity to those who love her.
Last Seen: Jan 17, 2025
