Here they were, these amateur investigators, desperately trying to find handsome businessman, adventurer and polo player, John Elwin.

The missing John Elwin.

Soon enough they were joined by other friends and family members and managed to track him down to the Philippines.

They'd hacked into Elwin's e-mail account and found a note saying he was traveling with his business partner, Hank Jacinto.

They'd found a frightened 'other woman' in the Philippines, who said she hadn't seen Elwin since he had left her to meet up with his friend "Hank Jacinto."

Then, combing through Elwin's financial records, Luis Soltren discovered Elwin had withdrawn money two days before he broke off all contact from this bank in Manila.

The bank is in an interesting location. It's perhaps 50 feet from the entrance to the Philippine headquarters of Hank Jacinto's business.

Long-time friend Luis Soltren finally called Jacinto at his corporate headquarters in Honolulu and confronted him.

Luis Soltren: So I go to him. "Were you in the Philippines?" He goes, "No, I wasn't there." I say, "Come on, Hank." I say, "I know you was [sic] in the Philippines" and then he goes, "oh yeah, yeah, yeah, I was there."

Jacinto, Soltren says, then made an amazing admission. He confessed that he had indeed met John Elwin in the Philippines but that he had been told to keep that from Elwin's friends, by John Elwin himself who, he said, was now in trouble and "laying low."

Soltren: He told me that John had gotten a couple of girls pregnant over there.
Keith Morrison: Did you believe that?
Luis Soltren: Hell no. I knew that was a lie -- right off the bat.

Or was it? By now, Kirsten and Denise had discovered another e-mail sent from Elwin's account. But this one came nearly a week after all communication with him had stopped cold.

Denise: And the e-mail was almost cryptic and says "I'm hanging out low. I'm laying low in Bangkok, under the radar."

Was it a genuine e-mail?

Was Elwin actually hiding from the angry Philippine father of some pregnant girl? After all, they knew there was at least one other woman over there. Jacinto claimed he was still in touch with Elwin -- but on the QT.

But sifting through Elwin's phone bills, Soltren found that Jacinto never once placed a call to Elwin after May 14 -- the day he disappeared.

Again, Soltren called Jacinto.

Luis Soltren: I go, "Gee, you never even called John once. Is that because you can't call the dead?"

Soltren's implication was, he knew, outrageous.

Jacinto was a prominent member of Honolulu's elite polo club. He had influence and important friends like lawyer and teammate Robert Miller.

Miller: I dealt with both these guys. I never had any reason to doubt anything Hank said. I never had any reason to doubt anything that John said.
Question: How do you know that Hank is above board?
Miller:  Well, all I know is you know, in the five years that I dealt with him, didn't drink, didn't smoke, did never, ever swore. Was a class act player, okay?
Question: Were you aware of what his business interests were?
Miller: As his attorney, I traveled to the Philippines and actually went and met with a number of his employees, and a number of people that he had contracts with and was doing business with.

Then what was going on?

In early July, six weeks after Elwin disappeared, his friend, Luis Soltren, discovered someone had been using Elwin's credit card for mail order purchases.

Morrison: What were the charges?
Soltren: Polo mallets and some other charges. And then I called where the purchase was made. And the guy said to me, "Oh I just spoke-- spoken with John." And I says, really? When did you speak to John? "Oh, June." I said, really. Where's John at? "1750 Kalakaua."
Morrison: And what address is that?
Soltren: Hank Jacinto's.

Elwin, remember, was a polo fanatic; he shipped his ponies by barge to meets all around the Hawaiian islands.

Right now, the horses were at a polo field in Oahu, and Kirsten went to pick them up.

But before she could take them back to Elwin's place on Kauai, Jacinto called the police. He claimed the horses were his and accused Kirsten of theft.

Kirsten Flood: That was kind of like a kick in the gut. This man came into our lives and turned them upside down and hasn't even blinked an eye about it yet … So John's not here to fight for what's his so it's up to me and John's family and Mr. Soltren to do that for John.

From Elwin's bank statements, Soltren learned Elwin had transferred around a quarter of a million dollars to Jacinto's Philippine account.

Luis Soltren: I believe he transferred $246,000 to Hank's escrow account.

Other strange financial transactions between Jacinto and Elwin were uncovered.

Elwin also signed over to Jacinto the title to his new Land Rover.

Keith Morrison: A car that was probably worth $40- or $50,000, right?
Luis Soltren: Yeah.
Keith Morrison: We're pushing $300,000 that he's turned over to Hank.
Luis Soltren: Easy. Easy. Easy.

Soltren wondered what else of Elwin's could Jacinto now be claiming as his own?

Luis Soltren: I had an escrow company run an escrow search on John's land. … and I was shocked.
Keith Morrison: Why?
Luis Soltren: Because the land that John owned at Kalihiwai came out as being owned by Hank Jacinto.

Soltren pulled the deed and was stunned to find that the document had, indeed, been signed by John Elwin. It had even been notarized.

Keith Morrison: And what did that notarized document imply had happened?
Luis Soltren: It implied that John turned over the land to Mr. Jacinto.
Keith Morrison: And that didn't make sense to you.
Luis Soltren: Of course not.

Now thoroughly frustrated, Soltren called Jacinto frequently.

Luis Soltren: I just told him basically, "You know, Hank, I don't know what you did. But you can rest assured that I'm going to find out." And he goes to me, "This is none of your business. This is business dealings with me and John."

And why wouldn't it be? Elwin and Jacinto were business partners.

Elwin could have very well have given Jacinto the money, the car, the horses, and the land as assets to be used for the development of their Cambodian polo club.

Soltren had no proof at all that Jacinto had acquired any of it illegally.

That's when Soltren had, let's say, a vision.

Luis Soltren: I have these moments in my life where little things click. And I get little warnings, you know.
Keith Morrison: That's odd. What do you mean? Just a feeling?
Luis Soltren: Just a feeling. And it kept coming to John's signature on that page. And then one night I think I got up about two in the morning and I says, "You know, we haven't even attempted to contact this notary, or to find out whether this notary is real."

The notary was, as it turns out, an actual person -- an officer at the Bank of Hawaii in Honolulu. After several tries, Soltren was finally able to reach her on the phone.

Luis Soltren: And she goes, "Oh yes, I notarized a document for John Elwin on April 11." I said, "Was it for the purchase of land?" She says, "No. Not even close."

Luis Soltren: We found out that the notary that Hank had used was for the sale of the Land Rover.
Keith Morrison: Not land at all.
Luis Soltren: Not land at all.

Soltren could come up with only one explanation: Jacinto had attached a genuine notarized document to a fake deed which gave him possession of John Elwin's land.

Keith Morrison: What'd you think when you saw that?
Luis Soltren: John is dead. John is dead as dead can get.

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