Seconds of Hope: Who Abducted the Luhk Sisters?

Two girls in Saipan vanish from their bus stop, launching a mystery that even baffles the FBI.

Maleina Luhk (left) and her older sister Faloma (right) have been missing for a decade (source).

Saipan is located in the western Pacific Ocean–north of Papua New Guinea and east of The Philippines. It’s the largest of the 14 islands in the Northern Mariana Islands and has the largest population as well. Nearly 50,000 call Saipan their home, and everyone knows the details surrounding the tragic mystery of Faloma and Maleina Luhk– two young sisters who disappeared while waiting for the morning bus.

After ten years of no answers or clues, many fear the fates of Faloma and Maleina Luhk will forever be a mystery. Will the community ever get answers? Parents agonized over the thought of the abductor striking again–was anyone on the island safe?

Faloma Luhk (left), and her younger sister, Maleina (right) (source).

It began the morning of Wednesday, May 25, 2011, as the sun rose over the village of As Teo. It arrived just in time for 10-year-old Faloma Luhk and her 9-year-old sister Maleina to make their routine journey to their bus stop, which sat only 300 feet away from their home. The two girls attended Kagman Elementary School and were excited for the school year to be over.

Faloma and Maleina grabbed their backpacks, said goodbye to their grandparents Elbert and Jane Quitugua, and walked out the door towards their bus stop, just a few meters away. Despite the proximity to the house, a curved road and tall vegetation hid the bus stop from view. Nevertheless, Elbert and Jane had no intention of watching the girls as they waited for the bus, but that was normal in As Teo. The village was an incredibly close community and the girls had over 40 relatives living among them.

After Faloma and Maleina left, Elbert and Jane continued about their day. Nothing seemed unusual until around 4 p.m. Faloma and Maleina usually returned from school around 3:30, but Elbert and Jane were still waiting for them to come through the door. Thinking the bus could be running late, they called the school and were given shocking news by the staff. Neither of the sisters showed up for their class that morning and…