BRING PAYTON HOME — #JUSTICE4PAYTONMAKANA

A Family’s Cry for Help By His Sister, Tanisha

Content Note: Mental illness, isolation, suicide

On November 25, 2025, my brother Payton Nathaniel "Makana" Hough 34, died by suicide—after being isolated from his family in South Carolina for over a year and a half. He was alone, and thousands of miles from his home of Kauaʻi, the island that raised and loved him.

Payton was gentle, loving, and full of life. He loved the ocean, his ʻohana, technology, skateboarding and God. Anyone who knew him knew his kindness, humor, and deep compassion for others. He carried Kauaʻi in his heart and should have come home long before now.

For years, Payton struggled with severe mental illness following a traumatic event in his teens, involving Michael Ebinger, a man who was convicted of killing a man. Despite our family’s efforts to advocate for him, Payton was isolated from us for over five years. In Spring 2024, a Hawaii mental health facility transferred him to South Carolina without our knowledge or consent, cutting off communication and denying his civil and patient rights.

The last time we saw Payton was on Zoom on December 19, 2024. We haven't seen him in person for over 5 years. Two days before Thanksgiving, overwhelmed by isolation and hopelessness, he took his life.

Now, even in death, dignity has been denied. The facility has offered to allow only one family member to retrieve his remains. A family should not have to grieve or say goodbye alone.

WHY WE ARE ASKING FOR HELP

1. Bring Payton Home

We are raising funds so our family can travel together to South Carolina, bring Payton home to Kauaʻi, and lay him to rest with the love and honor he deserves. Funds will cover airfare, lodging, transportation, and the cost of returning him home.

2. Seek Justice for Payton and Others

Payton endured isolation, mistreatment, and violations of his rights by institutions meant to protect him. We are seeking accountability and change so no other person or family experiences this. Funds will support legal action, advocacy, and awareness to reform mental health isolation practices in Hawaii and nationwide.

Our goal to bring Payton home and to start legal action and advocacy is $200,000. We would allot $50,000 to bring him home, and honor him with a Celebration of life. All other funds we receive (remaining goal of $150,000), would go to the cost of carrying on this torch for #Justice4PaytonMakana, and countless others we know get overlooked in the system.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Help bring Payton home

Support the fight for justice

Share his story

Pray for our family

“Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.”

Payton was—and will always be—REMEMBERED.

If you knew Payton, we invite you to share memories, photos, or stories as we honor who he truly was.

Contact:

Justice4Payton

C/O Zina Hough

P.O. Box 208

Kapaa, HI 96746

Email: [email redacted]

#Justice4PaytonMakana

From our Ohana to yours—thank you for standing with us, helping us bring Payton home, and turning our pain into purpose.

Mahalo Nui Loa,

Tanisha & The Hough Ohana