New Details | Elderly woman freed after days-long armed car captivity

By KITV Web Staff

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    HONOLULU (KITV) — New details have been released in connection with the Windward kidnapping incident that involved a 77-year-old woman and a man in his 20s.

According to official documents, at about 8:34 a.m. on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, police officers responded to Bank of Hawaii on Kamehameha Hwy for a “suspicious circumstances type of incident” where a young man allegedly brought an elderly lady and told her to take out all of her money.

It was reported that the man was armed with a butcher knife and that he allegedly kept the elderly woman inside of her vehicle for four to five days.

Police identified the suspect as Fortune Marchan via his New Jersey driver’s license.

The elderly woman told HPD that on March 10 or 11, around 8 a.m., she went to McDonalds in Kailua where she met Marchan who was gambling with some younger children.

The woman reportedly spoke to Marchan about not teaching children how to gamble, and he allegedly responded by yelling at her. Shortly after, he approached her and apologized.

The woman said that she and Marchan had casual conversations regularly over the next few weeks at the Kailua McDonalds.

On March 30, around 8:30 a.m., the woman was in the Kailua McDonald’s parking lot when Marchan opened her passenger side door and sat with her in her front passenger seat.

Marchan reportedly asked the woman if he could use her car for his DoorDash deliveries. She agreed, with the condition that he return her car each day after he finished his work.

However, things took a turn on March 31 around 7:30 a.m. when Marchan picked up the woman from her caretaking job in Kailua. The woman stated that Marchan drove them to the Kailua McDonalds and allegedly said, “It’s my car and I’m keeping it.”

The woman told Marchan to let her out of the car but Marchan declined and allegedly said, “No, I’m not letting you out, if you get out, I will kill you.” He was holding a rusted butcher knife with a wooden handle in his right hand and shaking it aggressively two feet from her face, she stated.

According to documents, the woman stated that Marchan drove her to multiple areas around the island over the next four days, restraining her to the vehicle and never allowing her to leave.

That night, the woman and Marchan slept in the vehicle of the parking lot of Sandy’s Beach Park, which occurred over the next few days. Marchan allegedly refused to let her out of her car, forcing her to urinate on herself while sitting in the front passenger seat.

It wasn’t until April 3 when Marchan asked her what bank she held her financial accounts with. She directed him to the Bank of Hawaii branch in Kaneohe where they arrived at about 8:30 a.m.

Marchan allegedly instructed the woman to go into the bank and withdraw all of the money she had in her bank account and to give it back to him. He allegedly threatened her again saying, “If you don’t take out all your money, I will kill you. I will stab you in the head.”

The woman proceeded to go into the bank and caught the attention of a security officer who was standing at the front entrance area. She asked if he could call the police. The branch manager ended up calling dispatch to notify them of the situation.

Officers then arrived at the bank and at about 9:07 a.m. Marchan was placed under arrest for Kidnapping and later Robbery in the First Degree.

The woman was examined by paramedics but she was in good condition and refused to be taken to the hospital.

Upon further investigation, it was discovered that the woman works as a live-in caretaker and would sleep at her job during work hours and on her days off would live in her car. Everything she owns is stated to be inside of her car.

Marchan’s initial court appearance was set for Monday, April 7.

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