Missing persons in CNMI since 1995

Sisters Faloma and Maleina Luhk have been reported missing since May 25, 2011 after they were last seen near a bus stop in As Teo. Their disappearance is not the only missing person case in the Commonwealth, as newspaper records showed that at least seven missing person cases have been reported since 1995 without resolution.

Here is a look at some of the reported missing persons in the past few years in the CNMI:

[B]Qi Run Li[/B] Manager, King’s Disco in Garapan

When: June 7, 2010
Last seen: Driving a silver Toyota Corolla with license plate ADJ-932 toward the vicinity of Gold’s Gym in China Town.
Breakthrough: His car was recovered in the parking lot of a building formerly occupied by Shirley’s Coffee Shop along Middle Road in Chalan Laulau on June 8, 2010.
Reward : Li’s family has offered a $20,000 cash reward for tips leading to his location. The NMI Crime Stoppers then offered up to $1,000 cash for information.
Update: Under further investigation. Classified as a missing person case.

[B]John Garcia Manahane, 24[/B]

When: Early part of October 2005
Last seen: Tinian
Search: Attorney General’s Investigation Unit aggressively conducted search on Tinian in August 2005. Guam police were also requested then to join the search and investigation.
Breakthough: None, but there were speculations he was murdered and buried on a farm on Tinian.
Reward: NMI Crime Stoppers Program then offered up to $1,000 cash for information.
Update: Under further investigation. Classified as missing person case.

[B]Manuel L. Dela Cruz, 79[/B]

Father of former Tinian Sen. Jose M. Dela Cruz
When: Sept. 30, 2000
Last seen: Walking early morning in San Jose Village, Tinian.
Search: Islandwide search on Tinian for several weeks.
Breakthrough: None
Reward: NMI Crime Stoppers Program offered up to $1,000 cash for information.
Update: Under further investigation. Classified as a missing person case.

[B]Yuji Watanabe, 65[/B]

When: March 1, 1998
Search: Marpi area
Breakthrough: Rented Toyota car with license plate ABH-617 found abandoned at the Bird Island Lookout on March 2, 1998. Car’s ignition key recovered inside the vehicle. His bag containing eyeglasses was found on the cliff’s edge.
Reward: Not indicated
Update: Classified as a missing person case

[B]Ngai Fung Chang, 27, and his girlfriend Lai Meung Kou, 28[/B]

When: March 1996
Last seen: Hafadai Beach Hotel where they checked in on March 16, 1996.
Search: Parents, relatives came to Saipan in March or May 1996 after the honeymooners failed to return to Hong Kong on their scheduled arrival.
Breakthrough: Reportedly dropped by a taxicab in China Town.
Reward: The parents offered a $20,000 cash. Crime Stoppers then offered up to $1,000 cash for information.
Update: Case classified as missing persons.

[B]Tian Ming[/B] One of the then owners of Sea King Restaurant and Joy Motel

When: April 30, 1995
Last seen: Marpi
Search: No extensive news coverage about the search as the Department of Public Safety at the time refused to release more information to the media about his disappearance and his background.
Breakthrough: Ming’s Toyota Camry was recovered at Banzai Cliff. Bloodstains were noted inside the car. Among the items found in the car was an Ace Hardware shopping bag containing a blueprint of a building, receipt, and other papers.
Reward: NMI Crime Stoppers Program then offered up to $1,000 cash for information.
Update: Investigators classified the case as missing person/homicide.

[I]Editor’s note: Not included on the list are persons who reportedly drowned and whose bodies were never recovered.[/I]