Carl Wayne Rotstein, known to friends by his middle name Wayne, disappeared during the catastrophic Kaloko Dam failure on the morning of March 14, 2006. He was 49, originally from Oakland, lived a largely nomadic life (including seven months in a tent in the Arizona desert), and supported himself as a skilled, self-taught gardener. He was 5 feet 11 inches, about 160 pounds, with brown hair, hazel eyes and wore eyeglasses.

Wayne was on a six-acre property in Kauai County to serve as best man at the wedding of Christina Michelle MacNees and Daniel Arroyo. The historic Kaloko Dam gave way after about forty days of continuous rain, releasing an estimated 400 million gallons of water. The flood swept away the Dingwall family, the wedding guests and their home. The bodies of Christina MacNees and both of Rowan’s parents were recovered; Carl Wayne Rotstein, Daniel Arroyo, Timothy Noonan and young Rowan were never found and are presumed drowned.

The dam’s failure was later linked to neglect and missing safety inspections; the owner, James Pflueger, was indicted on manslaughter counts and his company accepted responsibility, with a guilty plea to first-degree reckless endangerment reported.