Case Details
- Photo URLs:
-
- Missing Since:
- Missing Since 08/22/1993
- Missing From:
- Missing From Hilo, Hawaii
- Classification:
- Classification Endangered Missing
- Gender:
- Female
- Race:
- Race Native American
- Date of Birth:
- Date of Birth 10/29/1976 (48)
- Age:
- Age 16 years old
- Height and Weight:
- Height and Weight Unknown
- Clothing/Jewelry Description:
- Distinguishing Characteristics:
- Distinguishing Characteristics Native American female. Black hair, brown eyes. Sequoya is of Tarahumara Indian descent. She understands Spanish. She is a vegetarian.
- Details of Disappearance:
- Sequoya, a talented art student in Hawaii, disappeared on August 22, 1993, after telling her mom she was spending the night with a friend. She and her friend hitchhiked, and were picked up by Richard Serrano. Serrano took her friend home, but Sequoya went with him, Matthew Gibbs, and Jason McCubbins to a house.
Later, Gibbs confessed that he, McCubbins, and Serrano raped and beat Sequoya. They drugged her, and after she woke up and screamed, McCubbins punched her. They then drove her to a cliff and threw her into the ocean. Serrano even went back to try to retrieve her body from the sea but couldn’t find it.
McCubbins and Gibbs were convicted of crimes related to Sequoya’s death. Serrano, who fled to Mexico, was eventually caught and convicted of kidnapping, murder, and sexual assault. He is serving a lengthy prison sentence. Sequoya’s body was never found.
Adding to the mystery, Sequoya’s ex-boyfriend, who was meant to testify at Serrano’s trial, also disappeared and was never found. Police suspect foul play in his disappearance as well.
- Agency:
- Hawaii County Police Department
- Source Links:
This person was missing Missing Since 08/22/1993