The FBI just made a desperate plea for help in a case that has haunted an entire community for over a decade.
Two young sisters vanished without a trace in what should have been the safest place on earth.
And the FBI just dropped a bombshell about two missing sisters that has one community demanding answers.
Two sisters disappeared from a school bus stop and were never seen again
May 25, 2011 started like any other school day on the peaceful island of Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Nine-year-old Maleina Luhk and her 10-year-old sister Faloma walked to their bus stop in the village of As Tao, just like they had done countless times before.
But this time was different.
The sisters never made it to school that morning.
They never came home that afternoon.
In fact, they were never seen again.
The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Department of Public Safety received a frantic call that afternoon when the girls failed to show up at school or return home.
The FBI was called in that same day to help search for the missing children.
That was 14 years ago.
Faloma and Maleina Luhk are still missing.
"They were two girls of Chamorro descent and daughters of Jermaine Quitugua, who is from the Quitugua family," retired FBI Special Agent Haejun Park told the FBI. "They were children of the community, meaning we probably saw them at some point or another, being a small island. And when they went missing, everybody kind of knew who they were."
The disappearance shocked everyone who knew the sisters.
"People want to find out what happened to these girls," Park said. "They want to bring these girls back."
The FBI is offering a massive reward for information
As the 14th anniversary of their disappearance approaches, FBI Honolulu is making a renewed push for information about what happened to the Luhk sisters.
The Bureau is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information that leads to Faloma and Maleina’s whereabouts.
At the time of their disappearance, 9-year-old Maleina stood about 4 feet tall, weighed about 65 pounds, and had a birthmark on her left cheek.
She has brown hair and brown eyes and was wearing a white blouse with blue jeans when she disappeared.
Ten-year-old Faloma stood about 5’1" tall and weighed about 90 pounds.
Like her little sister, she has brown hair and brown eyes and was dressed in a light green shirt with a butterfly design and blue jeans the day she vanished.
School personnel who knew the girls were "utterly shocked" by their disappearance, according to Park.
The sisters – especially Faloma – were known for their pleasant personalities and constant smiles.
These weren’t troubled children who might have run away.
They were happy, well-adjusted kids who loved going to school.
The search has been exhaustive but fruitless
The FBI has legal jurisdiction to investigate federal crimes in U.S. territories like the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, where Saipan is located.
Since May 2011, federal agencies including the U.S. Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Department of Homeland Security have partnered with the FBI and local authorities to search for the girls.
The local community also played a major role in the early part of the investigation.
Residents helped scour Saipan’s unique terrain for signs of Faloma and Maleina.
"We had law enforcement officers and government agencies flying to Saipan to support us, but it took people on the ground to help us look further into the jungle, where they knew the land, they knew the woods, they knew the back jungle, back beaches," Park explained.
The FBI has also searched the waters surrounding Saipan and conducted aircraft and seafaring vessel inquiries since the island is only reachable by air or sea.
Unfortunately, these exhaustive efforts and extensive witness interviews haven’t yielded any answers.
"There is no conclusion to where these girls might’ve ended up," Park admitted. "Our hope’s we find these girls alive somewhere."
The disappearance shattered a community’s sense of safety
The girls’ disappearance has profoundly impacted their families and the entire Saipan community.
"They left a big hole in a lot of people’s hearts, left a lot of questions unanswered," Park said.
The incident also destroyed Saipan’s reputation as a safe place for children.
Before the Luhk sisters vanished, parents never worried about their kids walking to school or playing outside.
"It’s a very loving community, and that is why it was so detrimental when this occurred, because that safety was snatched from the community," said FBI Special Agent Rick Bauer, who’s currently leading the case. "That’s just another reason to drive us and the law enforcement—and the community—to get answers."
Investigators believe someone knows what happened
The FBI is casting a wide net in their search for information.
A large number of Micronesians have migrated to the continental United States, mainly to the Pacific Northwest but also to states like Idaho and Texas.
Since the Micronesian community maintains strong bonds, there’s a steady flow of people traveling between Saipan and the mainland United States.
Information travels fast through what investigators call the "coconut wire" — the informal network of communication between current and former Saipan residents.
"We want to reach out to those Micronesians that might have been here during that time or heard something," Park said. "We want to see if they want to come forward, help us, help the family, bring closure, or give us some evidence that we can use."
The FBI is asking anyone who might have heard information about the sisters’ whereabouts to come forward, even if they’ve already spoken with law enforcement about the case.
"We believe there are people out there that know something," Bauer stated. "No matter how big or how little it may be, it could be something that law enforcement can use in solving this mystery."
Tips can be submitted by phone at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or online at tips.fbi.gov.
Tips may be shared anonymously, and investigators say no detail is too small to potentially help solve this case.
Two young sisters walked to a school bus stop 14 years ago and were never seen again.
Their family deserves answers.
Their community deserves closure.
And somewhere out there, someone knows what happened to Faloma and Maleina Luhk.
