Mark Panela was a 51-year-old man when he was last seen in the Punaluu, Hawaii area, with his last known contact listed as February 8, 2021. Public case records describe him as male, 5 feet 8 inches tall, about 160 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, and identify the investigating agency as the Honolulu Police Department. The available case information places his disappearance near Kahana Bay, where Mark was reportedly seen entering or heading toward the water with diving gear; he has not
been seen or heard from since.
The clearest public accounts of Mark’s final known movements indicate that he had left a residence in the Waialua area in early February 2021. A person matching his description was seen around 9:30 a.m. near Kahana Bay, walking toward the ocean while wearing a wetsuit and carrying diving and spearfishing gear. Those details suggest that Mark may have intended to enter the water for a dive or spearfishing outing, a familiar type of activity in coastal communities but one that can become dangerous quickly depending on currents, visibility, weather, equipment, and the remoteness of the shoreline.
After that sighting, the trail appears to have gone quiet. Publicly available case summaries state that Mark’s vehicle, a silver and black 2004 Nissan Sentra with Hawaii license plate SPS 685, was found at the location where he was believed to have entered the water. That detail gave investigators and the public a focused last-known-location, but it also deepened the uncertainty surrounding what happened after he reached Kahana Bay. With the vehicle still there and no confirmed contact from Mark afterward, the case became one of a man seemingly vanishing during what appeared to be a planned trip into the ocean.
The Honolulu Police Department and CrimeStoppers Honolulu sought help from the public in locating Mark, asking anyone with information to come forward. CrimeStoppers Honolulu’s missing-persons page directs people with information about missing persons to contact CrimeStoppers by phone or submit an online tip, while the Honolulu Police Department’s public information also identified Mark’s case as one in which assistance was needed. Public reports from the time noted that authorities believed he may have gone diving at Kahana Bay, reinforcing the importance of anyone who may have been in the area, seen activity near the shoreline, noticed unattended gear, or remembered a diver matching his description coming forward.
Mark Panela’s disappearance remains a painful and unresolved story built around a narrow window of time: a 51-year-old man in Hawaii, last known near the ocean at Kahana Bay with diving and spearfishing gear, his vehicle later associated with the same area, and no confirmed contact afterward. The case rests on a small number of public facts, but those facts carry a heavy weight for those who knew him and for anyone still hoping for answers. In overview, Mark was last known in the Punaluu/Kahana Bay area in February 2021, the Honolulu Police Department handled the missing-person investigation, his last known activity involved entering or approaching the water with diving gear, and the central unanswered question remains what happened after he reached the bay.Last Seen: Feb 8, 2021
