MEDIA RELEASE

Detectives have identified a woman found floating Dec. 28 near the Hilo breakwater as 56-year-old Debra Giamario of Hilo.

On Thursday, Jan. 8, an acquaintance of Giamario’s initiated a missing person report stating the woman had not been seen since Dec. 25. Investigators quickly came to realize the missing person was likely the woman found dead in December. The decedent’s family was notified and a family member assisted in identifying the woman.

Final autopsy findings are pending toxicology analysis.

A fisherman reported finding the body floating near the breakwater just outside Hilo Bay shortly before 11 a.m. Dec. 28. Fire Department personnel airlifted the body to the Hilo pier.

Police ask anyone with information about this case call Lt. Mitchell Kanehailua at 961-2252 or the Police Department’s non-emergency line at 935-3311. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 961-8300 or 329-8181.