FBI turns to Hawaii, other states

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has renewed efforts to locate missing sisters Faloma and Maleina Luhk, this time focusing its publicity campaign in Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington State—states with sizeable populations originating from the CNMI.

The combination photo shows Faloma, left, age-progressed to 13 years and Maleina age-progressed to 12 years. They were last seen at the bus stop near their home in the village of As Tao on May 25, 2011. Faloma was last seen wearing a light green shirt with a butterfly design and blue jeans. Maleina was last seen wearing a white blouse and blue jeans. She has a birthmark on her left cheek. (www.missingkids.com)

Vida G. Bottom, special agent-in-charge of the Honolulu Office of the FBI, said the bureau is hoping that this latest publicity push and the age-enhanced photos of the Luhk sisters will generate new leads to resolve this case.

In a statement released yesterday, Bottom said the FBI is seeking the public’s help in providing information regarding the Luhk sisters, who disappeared from Saipan on May 5, 2011.

Faloma and Maleina Luhk were ages 10 and 9 when they mysteriously disappeared at a bus stop near their house in As Teo.

FBI spokesman special agent Tom Simon said yesterday that the FBI and local authorities will not stop digging until they get the Luhk family the answers they deserve.

Simon said the FBI regards this as an ongoing investigation.

“There is someone out there who knows what happened to these girls, and we are hoping they will step forward and call in the tip we need to resolve this troubling case,” Simon said.

He said most people can only imagine the despair felt by members of the Luhk family over the past few years.

“We are hoping that these age-enhanced photos may unlock a memory in someone that will provide us with the clue we need to solve this mystery,” Simon said.

The FBI released last week computer-generated age progression images of how sisters Faloma and Maleina Luhk would possibly look now, three years after their disappearance.

The FBI has been coordinating with the Department of Public Safety in distributing all over the CNMI photos of Faloma and Maleina who are age-progressed to 13 and 12 years old respectively.

“Anyone with information to provide should contact their local FBI office or police,” Simon said.

FBI Saipan office special agent Haejun Park and FBI Guam office special agent Joe Strantz released to the media last Thursday the age-progressed images of the Luhk sisters.

The FBI and DPS are jointly conducting the investigation into the mysterious disappearance of the Luhk sisters.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children produced the computer-generated age progression images at the FBI’s request.

The sisters’ disappearance triggered the most extensive searches in CNMI history, with FBI agents and DPS officers combing a landfill, caves, jungles, beaches, villages, abandoned buildings, and other areas for several months.

Many civilian volunteers joined some of the searches. The U.S. military even conducted aerial searches. A tracking dog was also sent from Hawaii to join the searches.