In what was meant to be a joyous occasion, the life of Carl Wayne Rotstein, along with several others, was irrevocably altered by a catastrophic event in Kauai County, Hawaii. Known to his loved ones by his middle name, Wayne, he was a man who chose a path less traveled, embracing a nomadic lifestyle that saw him live in various places, including a seven-month stint in a tent in the Arizona desert.
Originally from Oakland, he had distanced himself from a conventional life, finding solace and purpose in the outdoors. He was a skilled, self-taught gardener, capable of transforming barren land into thriving organic vegetable gardens that could feed a community. At 49 years old, he was described as being 5'11' and 160 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes, and he wore eyeglasses.
The morning of March 14, 2006, was slated to be a day of celebration; Wayne was to be the best man at the wedding of his friends, Christina Michelle MacNees and Daniel Arroyo. They were all gathered on a six-acre property owned by Wayne's business partner, Aurora Solveig Fehring Dingwall, and her husband, Alan Gareth Dingwall. Also present were the Dingwalls' young son, Rowan, and another friend, Timothy Noonan. However, after an unrelenting forty days of rain, the historic Kaloko Dam gave way, unleashing an estimated 400 million gallons of water upon the community below. The powerful deluge swept away Wayne, the Dingwall family, their wedding guests, and their home.
In the aftermath of the disaster, search efforts led to the heartbreaking discovery of the bodies of Christina MacNees and both of Rowan's parents. Tragically, Carl Wayne Rotstein, Daniel Arroyo, Timothy Noonan, and little Rowan were never found. They are presumed to have been lost to the floodwaters and drowned. The investigation into the dam's failure revealed a history of neglect. The dam, over a century old, was owned by a prominent local businessman, James Pflueger. It was determined that the dam had not undergone required safety inspections and that its spillway had allegedly been covered, a critical safety feature. This led to Pflueger being indicted on seven counts of manslaughter. In a subsequent legal agreement, his company took responsibility for the charges, and he pleaded guilty to a felony count of first-degree reckless endangerment. This case remains a painful memory of a preventable tragedy, where a day that should have been filled with love and happiness turned into one of immense loss for several families, leaving them without the bodies of their loved ones to lay to rest.Last Seen: Mar 14, 2006
