Friday, March 26, 1999

Maui police have recovered a life preserver believed to have been worn by a woman reportedly killed by a shark in waters between Kahoolawe and Maui. Police Lt. Glenn Cuomo said the life preserver was recovered Wednesday morning on Kahoolawe near where rescue officials found the kayak used by the woman and her husband. Asked if the life preserver showed any signs of a shark attack, Cuomo said, "We haven't examined it thoroughly yet." Cuomo said detectives have been searching Kahoolawe this week by air and ground and continued looking for the missing woman yesterday. No trace of blood was found on the kayak by a chemical examination, an investigator said. Finding no blood was "kind of unusual" considering the woman's arm was bitten off, said Capt. Victor Tengan of the Maui Police Department's Criminal Investigation Division. Experts are being called to determine whether blood can seep into a kayak's surface or can be entirely washed away by sea water. Missing persons are normally handled by the juvenile section of the Maui Police Department, but this one is being investigated by Tengan's Criminal Investigation Division. "We are involved to rule out any possibility of foul play," said Tengan. Police have searched the couple's car and hotel room, and "everything seems to be OK," he said. Manouchehr Monazzami-Taghadom, of Sunnyvale, Calif., said his wife, Nahid Davoodabai, 29, was attacked by a shark and died after their rented kayak was pushed away from shore by winds and currents. Police plan to interview him again before he returns to the mainland tomorrow.

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