WAILUKU, HI — A missing-person search for Makela Eubanks ended after the Maui Police Department said she was located and found to be in good health. Police had asked the public for help tracing the 22-year-old Mississippi woman’s movements after she was reported missing by a family member.
Eubanks had arrived on Maui alone on a one-way ticket from Mississippi in late July. Investigators said her last known contact was on Aug. 18, when she used her cell phone to communicate with acquaintances, and that the phone had been turned off that evening.
Police sought help after last confirmed contact on Aug. 18
The missing-person notice came after a concerned family member reported Eubanks missing on Aug. 31, 2026. Police said the timing of the report followed more than a week without confirmed contact and several weeks after her arrival on the island.
According to the Maui Police Department, Eubanks’ last documented police contact was on Aug. 7. Officers said they believed she still had her phone, but it had been off since the evening of Aug. 18. That detail became one of the main leads in the search.
Authorities also noted that Eubanks did not have a vehicle, which limited how she may have been moving around the island. Police asked anyone with information to contact the department’s non-emergency line.
Seen in Wailuku, Kahului and Hana before she was found
Before she was located, police said Eubanks had been seen in multiple parts of Maui, including Wailuku, Kahului and Hana. Those locations gave investigators and the public a wider area to consider while trying to determine her whereabouts.
The department did not say in the update where she was found, only that she had been located and was in good health. The search covered a broad slice of the island, from central Maui communities to the more remote eastern side.
Police thanked the public for helping spread the word. No emergency was reported in the update, and officers said anyone with urgent information should call 911 and reference the case number.
What police said about Eubanks’ appearance and last known details
At the time of the search, police described Eubanks as African American and Caucasian, about 5 feet 2 inches tall and roughly 220 pounds. They said she has brown hair and brown eyes.
Officers also said it was not known what she was last wearing. That missing detail made it harder to narrow the search, especially after days had passed since her most recent confirmed contact.
The department’s notice centered on the basic identifying information available to the public. Police asked anyone who might have seen her or knew where she was to share that information, even if it seemed small or indirect.
How the Maui Police Department framed the search
The Maui Police Department’s request was straightforward: help locate a woman who arrived from out of state and had not been confirmed safe. The notice identified Eubanks as from Mississippi and noted that she had traveled to Maui on a one-way ticket.
That combination of details suggested she was away from home without a vehicle and had only limited confirmed contact after her arrival. Police used the available timeline to build the public appeal, starting with her July 20 arrival and ending with the Aug. 18 phone contact.
After she was found, the department closed the public concern by saying she was in good health. The update also served as a brief acknowledgement that community assistance had helped resolve the search.
Police case number and contact line were part of the alert
In its missing-person notice, police included a case number for anyone calling about the search. The department said emergency callers should dial 911 and refer to MPD report number 26-022458.
For non-emergency information, the Maui Police Department directed the public to 808-244-6400. That contact information was part of the standard appeal while officers were still trying to account for Eubanks.
With Eubanks now confirmed safe, the case shifted from a missing-person alert to a resolved update. Police did not provide further details about where she had been or how she was found.
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