Some of the stolen Niihau shell lei were found buried in his ... Police returned the one dozen lei that were recovered to the store owner. Another 13 stolen lei are still missing.

Special Response Team and Wailuku detectives to recover the Niihau shell leis,” Lopez said. “It was outstanding police work that led to the leis being recovered and returned back to the owner.” ...

In 1864, Scottish plantation owner Elizabeth Sinclair purchased Niihau from Kamehameha V, closing off the island and its few hundred Native Hawaiian residents from anyone who didn’t live there.