Jason Roy Henderson, 30, was last seen by his wife on the morning of Wednesday, August 14, 2002, when he left Mahukona Harbor, Hawaii, for a solo fishing trip. He departed in a twelve-foot Seahawk Zodiac raft painted blue, green, and yellow and powered by a two-horse Honda outboard motor; the outboard end was marked Angel Pudding in black pen. He wore red surfing shorts with a black stripe and carried a military camouflage CamelBak with water, a red diving floater, two fishing poles, MREs, two oars, a red air pump, and his pocket held his cell phone, wallet, and keys.

Other fishermen reported seeing Henderson on the water at about 6:00 p.m., but when he did not return by his planned 10:00 p.m. time, family members notified authorities. The U.S. Coast Guard mounted an extensive search amid reports of a strong current that day, but found no sign of Henderson, his raft, or his belongings. No trace has been recovered in the years since. A 1990 Norton High School graduate, Henderson had served a decade in U.S. Army Special Forces, graduated from the University of Hawaii ROTC in May 2002 as a commissioned officer, and was a second lieutenant in the Hawaii National Guard planning training in Georgia that October; he left behind two children and his wife has remarried.

What information might help explain how a well-equipped boat and an experienced service member vanished without a trace?