An elaborate Waikiki sand sculpture is protected by a partition inside the lobby of the famous Royal Hawaiian hotel.
The sculpture, the first of its kind to be exhibited at the five-star resort, is said to represent two keiki — or Hawaii's children — during Makahiki season, the ancient Hawaiian New Year festival. The artist completed the piece in mid-July 2019, then went back home to Florida. Just a couple of months later, the hotel flew him right back to Hawaii to repair some unexpected damage.
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In August 2019, a teenage girl was captured on surveillance camera climbing over the partition that kept the sculpture safe from public harm. In the clip here, you'll see her proceed to destroy and deface the beautiful sand sculpture with her bare hands, knocking off one of the figure's heads, ripping through facial features, digging into the sand, and even throwing random objects at it.
All that time and hard work was ruined in just a matter of seconds.
Once the damage was done, the vandal fled with another teenage girl who'd been recording the incident on her phone.
She left $1,500 in damages in her wake, and hotel staff strung several leis over the destruction before the artist returned to make his repairs.
It wasn't long after Honolulu police shared the footage that they were able to identify the girls in question.
