All the evidence led to the University of Hawaii’s West Oahu campus, to a field that appeared to contain a shallow grave. Taking direction from their FBI mentor, two teams of young investigators began to excavate the site, using trowels and soft brushes, working methodically until the freshly exposed earth revealed the outlines of a skull. 

For the students from two different high schools, the hands-on dig was part of a mock kidnapping case they were investigating, and the culmination of a yearlong introduction to the FBI and the workings of the criminal justice system. For Special Agent Arnold Laanui, the exercise capped another successful year for the FBI Honolulu Division’s Adopt-a-School program—and it reaffirmed his passionate belief that one of the best ways to reduce crime in at-risk communities is to provide the right educational opportunities for young people.

Read the full article

https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/fbi-honolulu-adopt-a-school-program