Search costs now over $200K

The CNMI government has now spent over $200,000 in regular work hours and overtime costs for personnel involved in “Operation Hope,” the search effort for missing sisters Faloma and Maleina Luhk.

FBI special agent Tom Simon confirmed yesterday that a search dog from Hawaii is coming this week to Saipan to help locate the Luhk sisters.

On Saturday, the fourth day of search at the Marpi landfill failed yet again to yield any clues that could shed light on the disappearance of 10-year-old Faloma and 9-year-old Maleina.

Simon also cautioned the girls’ family and everyone else against persons claiming to be psychics and offering help to find the sisters.

Jerome Ierome, Criminal Justice Planning Agency executive director, told Saipan Tribune Friday that the islandwide search that began on May 26 has now resulted in 15,000 to 20,000 work hours and overtime for about 75 CNMI law enforcers and other personnel.

Ierome said the work hours spent for “Operation Hope” up until Wednesday or Thursday last week translate to over $170,000.

Ierome earlier disclosed that the CNMI government has created an expense account for the search.

“This is an expense account under the Governor’s Office to try and assist in every urgency or emergency needed from the operation center to support law enforcement that are out there in the search,” he said.

Faloma and Maleina were reportedly last seen near a bus stop pavilion in As Teo after 6am on May 25.

After Friday’s search at the landfill, Marvin K. Seman, special assistant for the Office of Homeland Security, told CNMI personnel to return Saturday for the resumption of an eight-hour scouring of a garbage heap.

Seman said the governor approved fielding more CNMI personnel to assist the FBI team at the landfill.

On Friday, 20 local personnel joined 11 FBI agents at the landfill.

FBI special agent Simon told Saipan Tribune yesterday that they will hold a news briefing when the search dog arrives from Hawaii.

The FBI’s Guam resident chief, Steve L. Moore, earlier disclosed that they are mulling bringing in trained dogs for the search.

Simon said the search at the landfill has turned up nothing new and they are about one day done from scouring the dumpsite.

“We expect to the close of business tomorrow [Monday] to be done with that and we can move on to the next phase of the investigation,” said Simon, who is the FBI Honolulu media relations coordinator.

He said the FBI and local authorities continue to cover leads.

“Hopefully one of these leads is [going to] provide a solution to this mystery,” Simon said.

With respect to psychic issue, Simon said the FBI does not use psychics in their investigations because “there is no such thing as psychics.”

“We also don’t use unicorns in our investigations. Psychics are fraud, they are liars, they are thieves. Most of them step into this situation trying to take advantage of the family for money,” he said.

The special agent warned the Luhk’s family or anyone else to stay away from people claiming to be psychics because “they are thieves and liars.”