The East Hawaii Aloha Exchange Club named Hawaii Police Department Officer Derek Kenison as its Officer of the Month for November.
Kenison, an eight-year veteran of the department, was nominated by Lt. Scott Amaral for his role in identifying a suspect who was wanted for an extradition warrant from Mississippi for kidnapping, and for the successful delivery of the child to the proper agency.
On Nov. 12, a 41-year-old Mississippi man reported fleeing to Hawaii with his 5-year-old daughter after alleged incidents involving his estranged wife that occurred in Mississippi, which caused him to fear for his safety and that of their daughter.
At the time of the report, a check with the National Crime Information Center was conducted and it was found that the 41-year-old man was not wanted in Mississippi.
Kenison removed the child from the custody of her father and placed her into protective custody with the state Child Welfare Services while the investigation was initiated.
Upon going home for the evening, because of a lingering “gut feeling” that something was amiss, Kenison googled the child’s mother’s name and found there were several news articles saying the child was missing from Hinds County in Mississippi, but not declared officially missing by law enforcement.
Upon Kenison checking the National Crime Information Center on Nov. 13, he found there was a recently updated full extradition warrant for the 41-year-old Mississippi man for parental kidnapping of his daughter, which was issued by Hinds County.
Kenison informed the Area I Juvenile Aid Section of the full extradition warrant and kept in close contact with the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office throughout the process of Juvenile Aid detectives obtaining the required documentation to extradite the Mississippi man, who was later arrested on the extradition warrant.
By trusting his instincts, and because of his investigative skills and through his use of resources available to him, Kenison was able to successfully rescue a kidnapped child and ensure the responsible was brought to justice.