FBI, DPS investigation intensified, broadened

The scope of the investigation being done by the FBI and local police into the disappearance of sisters Faloma and Maleina Luhk has been further intensified and broadened, according to acting Department of Public Safety commissioner Ramon Mafnas yesterday.

Additional resources and expertise are coming in, said Mafnas, without elaborating.

As this developed, two teams of less than 20 volunteers scoured the villages of Kannat Tabla and Chalan Kiya yesterday but failed to find any trace of the girls.

Mafnas said the partnership between DPS and federal law enforcement agencies continues and so is the investigation effort.

“Our operation will continue here at the Incident Command Center. We are prepared to respond to any new development, provide support, or assist when called upon,” he said.

Mafnas said they will hold another news briefing today, Tuesday.

A donor told Saipan Tribune that the cash reward for information that will lead to the whereabouts of the missing sisters should be increased. As of yesterday, a total of $2,000 is being offered to anyone who could provide information about the location of the Luhk sisters.

The donor, who asked not to be identified, has been regularly donating sodas, betel nuts, and other fruits, to the Incident Command Post at the Kagman Community Center.

He and his two children would also do their own searches by hiking all over the island.

He said Saipan is a multi-cultural island so people of different nationalities and other organizations should also be volunteering and helping in the search.

“This is a big problem. We should stick [together] as a community. This is our home!” he said.

If Faloma and Maleina Luhk are found, he said, the government and people should make sure that this will not happen again.

The girls were reportedly last seen on May 25 at 6am as they were leaving their house in As Teo on their way to a bus stop.

Faloma and Maleina Luhk have been under the care of their grandparents Elbert and Jane Quitugua for almost three years now. Their mother, Jermain Quitugua, came back to Saipan from Guam on May 26 after learning about the incident.

The girls’ father—Ruhtik Rupaul Luhk—is a former police officer and corrections officer on Saipan who is now staying in Pohnpei. He belongs to the 12th CNMI Police Academy Cycle.