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‘It’s our desire to close Luhk case’
The Department of Public Safety said yesterday that it is its deepest desire to work with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and close the case of sisters Faloma and Maleina Luhk, who have been missing exactly seven years to today near their home in As Teo.
Elbert Quitugua, the grandfather of the Luhk sisters, said yesterday that the family is still hoping and praying that somebody will come out and provide information to the authorities on the children’s whereabouts.
The case now marks its seventh year.
DPS spokesperson Jacqueline Rae Shepard said it’s their desire to close this case and give the family the answers they deserve.
“The disappearance of the Luhk sisters is still very much an open case,” Shepard said.
FBI special agent Arnold Laanui echoed this Wednesday, saying the Luhk sisters’ case is still open and under investigation.
Laanui said FBI special agents stationed on Saipan and Guam, as well as their law enforcement partners on both islands, continue to pursue and exhaust all leads in this matter.
Quitugua said in an interview yesterday that if there is still no resolution to the case this year, they are praying it will be resolved next year or in coming years, so long as they find answers as to what happened to his granddaughters.
“Not knowing is three times more painful than knowing what really happened and where they are,” Quitugua said.
The family will offer a Mass of special intention or remembrance for the Luhk sisters today, Friday, at the Santa Soledad Church in Kagman at 6pm.
Faloma and Maleina, who were ages 10 and 9 at the time of their disappearance, were last seen at a bus stop shelter near their home on the morning of May 25, 2011.
The sisters’ disappearance sparked massive searches conducted by FBI, DPS and other law enforcement agencies as well as civilian volunteers on Saipan, but there was no trace of their whereabouts.
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- Elbert Quitugua and his family kneel for prayers during a Mass of remembrance for his granddaughters Faloma and Maleina Luhk at the St. Jude Church in Koblerville last Saturday. The family will offer a Mass of special intention at the Sta. Soledad Church in Kagman today, Friday, which marks the 7th year when the Luhk sisters disappeared at a public bus shelter near their home in As Teo. (Ferdie de la Torre)
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- Maleina Luhk
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- Faloma Lukh
