• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • FFS PRODUCTIONS
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Teenager was never seen again after sending mysterious photo of ‘shadow man’ to family

Home> News> US News

Published 10:48 17 Dec 2025 GMT

Teenager was never seen again after sending mysterious photo of ‘shadow man’ to family

He sent the photo and shortly afterwards, disappeared completely

Joe Harker

Joe Harker

In February 2015, a young hiker took one last picture of something strange which he sent to his family, and that was the last they ever heard of him as he was never seen again.

18-year-old Daylenn Pua had been hiking the Haʻikū Stairs in Hawaii, a closed trail which had been built in the 1940s during the Second World War to provide access to a radio station which would communicate with American warships in the Pacific Ocean.

The stairs had been shut to the public since 1987, but people still tried to climb them, and on the day he disappeared, the teenager became the latest to attempt the stairs, which had become known as the 'Stairway to Heaven'.

Pua had been visiting his grandmother, who told him not to hike the trail, but he decided he'd give it a go despite her misgivings and texted pictures he took of himself walking the trail.

Advert

Daylenn Pua went missing in 2015 at the age of 18, and no trace of him was ever found (Family Handout)
Daylenn Pua went missing in 2015 at the age of 18, and no trace of him was ever found (Family Handout)

One of the last pictures he sent out appeared to show a figure lurking in the undergrowth who would end up being dubbed the 'shadow man', but the truth behind what exactly it was and Daylenn's disappearance remains a mystery.

Pua had posted on social media to announce he was setting off for his hike on 26 February, with his last communication coming at around 11am local time that day, after not hearing from him for 24 hours, his grandma declared him missing.

Search efforts were launched for the teenager, with his father being taken on board a helicopter to shout his son's name in the hopes he would respond.

Some hikers claimed they'd heard cries for help after Pua went missing, but on 3 March, official search efforts were called off having found no trace of him.

Unofficial efforts involved hundreds of volunteers, with people rappelling down drops in the hopes of finding the teen, but they too found nothing.

The mysterious 'shadow man' was the final image Daylenn Pua sent his family (Crime Stoppers Honolulu)
The mysterious 'shadow man' was the final image Daylenn Pua sent his family (Crime Stoppers Honolulu)

The family raised concerns about the 'shadow man' in one of his final pictures, but whether it was a person following the teen or something else entirely was never established, and there was little authorities could do to follow it up.

As for the stairs, they remain closed to the public and there are fines of $1,000 against people caught breaking onto the trail to hike it.

A hiker who has walked the trail said that at the start of 2025, security had tightened significantly as it was a 'high-risk hike' and 'illegal' to try it.

People are arrested for trying to get onto the trail and plans are in place for the steps themselves to be demolished.

Unfortunately for the case of Daylenn Pua, it's possible that he will never be found and the truth about what happened to him will likely never be known.

Featured Image Credit: Crime Stoppers Honolulu

Topics: US News, Weird

Joe Harker
Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

X

@MrJoeHarker

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

an hour ago
2 hours ago
3 hours ago
16 hours ago
  • Stefan JERREVANG / TT News Agency / AFP via Getty Images
    an hour ago

    Bill Gates breaks silence on being named in Epstein files following claims he 'caught STD from Russian girls'

    His ex-wife previously spoke out about 'painful times' in their marriage

    News
  • Getty Stock Image
    2 hours ago

    Incredible planetary parade will be seen soon with six planets visible

    One of them in particular should be very easy to see

    News
  • Steve Parsons - WPA Pool/Getty Images
    3 hours ago

    Legal documents show shocking claims over what Andrew 'did with stripper brought to him by Jeffrey Epstein'

    She said it was not what she was hired to do

    News
  • Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images
    16 hours ago

    Turning Point USA announces alternative Super Bowl halftime show lineup

    It's being dubbed 'The All-American Halftime Show'

    News
  • Teenager left paralysed from chest down may ‘never walk again' after breaking neck doing trampoline stunt
  • Main theory behind what happened to teenager who sent photo of 'shadow man' to family and was never seen again
  • Bizarre case involving mysterious death of man 'who never existed' which still remains unsolved
  • Chilling final image of French daredevil who was never seen again after ignoring desperate warning