Dog leads to discovery of set of human remains

A dog looking for a bone to chew on yesterday morning led to the FBI’s and the Department of Public Safety’s discovery of a set of human remains at a homestead area in Kagman III.

The FBI and DPS disclosed that a medical doctor confirmed that the remains are human, but that they have not yet confirmed the person’s identity.

Federal and police investigators cordoned off the vicinity of Lalangchita Road, Puteng Drive, and Agafelang Avenue as they conducted more searches in the afternoon. As of late afternoon, investigators were still in the area.

Officers from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Marshals Service, and Emergency Management Office personnel assisted the FBI and DPS in the search and investigation.

FBI special agent Joseph Auther during a media briefing at the scene said based on the conditions of the bones and initial investigation, the remains have already been in the area for about three to four weeks.

Auther said if the set of remains belong to either Faloma and Maleina Luhk, there is a possibility that the Luhk sisters were kept alive for several weeks after their disappearance.

“And because there’s only one set of remains, it is conceivable that the second victim might still be alive somewhere,” Auther said.

Ten-year-old Faloma and 9-year-old Maleina reportedly disappeared while waiting for a school bus near their residence in As Teo last May 25.

Despite a search expert dog from Hawaii and island-wide searches conducted for several weeks by joint FBI, DPS, other federal and local agencies, and volunteers, the children were never found.

Auther said the set of remains did not appear to be from May 25, the day of the mysterious disappearance of the Luhk sisters.

“These remains have already been here for a few weeks,” said Auther, adding that if it is connected with the missing Luhk sisters, the question is where is the second victim.

Asked if the human remains belong to a child, the special agent said they can’t tell right now.

“Bones apparently have been scattered by an animal and we found bones in several locations around here. But there is one location where most of the bones are located right now,” Auther said. “We will be going over that a little more closely when we have evidence response people respond from Guam and Honolulu.”

Auther and DPS Commissioner Ramon C. Mafnas urged the public to be vigilant and call the authorities if they notice something unusual loke a person shopping for girls clothing or purchasing extra food.

Mafnas said a dog got the bone that’s how the remains were discovered.

“I guess the owner of the dog was wondering what kind of bone is that so he decided to call the police,” Mafnas said.

The commissioner said they are arranging to store the bones at the Commonwealth Health Center’s morgue and test the DNA.

Mafnas also disclosed that a piece of clothing was found. He refused to elaborate.

A resident in the area, however, told the media that he saw a blue underwear believed to be belonging to a girl and a pair of black and white zories in the yard of an abandoned house where other bones were later found.

Paul Cruz, a boat captain, told the media that he was the person who called the police yesterday morning after Shiro, their boonie dog, brought a bone to their yard.

Cruz said he woke up his wife to confirm whether the bone taken by their dog was indeed human.

He said the bone was still meaty and smelled bad.

Cruz said police officers came to their house located along Agafelang Avenue corner Puteng Drive and conducted an investigation about the bone.

He said after a few minutes when the officers left, he learned from his brother that while he was going to his daughter’s house he saw another bone on the road.

The boat captain said he called DPS again to inform them about the other bones.

Many bones were subsequently found scattered near a two-storey house and in the yard of an abandoned house, belonging to the family of Mary Ann Concepcion-Teregeyo. It was at this abandoned house where the zories and underwear were reportedly found.

Residents in the neighborhood said their place is very dark at night and that they have been noticing the foul smell for two to three weeks now.

The residents said they thought the smell came from a dead dog or other animal.

The family of the Luhk sisters refused to comment to Saipan Tribune since there is no confirmation yet that the remains belong to one of the missing children. But the family said they were informed about the ongoing investigation.

Steve Moore, the FBI’s supervisory senior resident agent on Guam, said it is too soon to say whether the remains are those of the missing Luhk sisters.

“We are treating it like a crime scene. We don’t know if it’s the missing girls….we will process the evidence and determine whether the remains have anything to do with the missing girls,” Moore said.

Acting governor Eloy S. Inos assured the general public that a full investigation of this discovery has been ongoing since it was reported to police earlier yesterday.

Inos also sought the public’s patience to allow for a swift and thorough investigation.

“In an effort to ensure a thorough and proper investigation into this matter, I am urging everyone in the community to allow the appropriate authorities to carry on with their operations as we search for answers relating to this development,” Inos said.

“Given that this type of situation may have the tendency to escalate rumors and speculation, I respectfully encourage everyone to rely on official information coming from the appropriate authorities,” Inos said.