Also found were pieces of clothing, a young girl’s underwear and a pair of zorries.
A medical doctor brought to the scene confirmed that the remains found in a grassy lot on Puteng Drive belonged to a human, according to Department of Public Safety Commissioner Ramon C. Mafnas and Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent Joseph Auther.
The bones will be tested for DNA on Saipan, Mafnas added.
Auther said the remains “appear to be perhaps three to four weeks old.”
“So if any of these remains belonged to one of the missing girls, there is a possibility they were kept alive for several weeks after their disappearance,” Auther said, referring to Faloma Luhk,10, and her sister Meleina Luhk, 9, who were last seen on May 25, 2011. The two are students of Kagman Elementary School.
Relatives of the girls were at the scene yesterday but they could not confirm if the pieces of clothing belonged to the sisters.
The size of the zorries was “too big” to belong to any of the girls, Variety was told.
Auther said the remains may have been in the area for only a few weeks.
And because only one set of remains was found, “it is conceivable that the second victim might still be alive somewhere,” he added.
The search and investigation will continue, he said.
Mafnas said they are asking members of the community to remain vigilant and report anything that appears to be “unusual.”
Auther said the bones have apparently been scattered by an animal. However, most of the bones were found in one area and did not appear to have been buried.
Mafnas said they are now “arranging” the bones in the morgue and will soon conduct DNA testing.
“DNA testing will be done by proper authorities and we will do it immediately,” he added.
The lot where most of the remains were found has been abandoned for many years, according to neighbors.
The house on the lot is barely visible from the road because many trees surround it.
Located on Puteng Dr., the house is owned by the family of Tina Concepcion Pangelinan and is just a couple of blocks away from the road where a teenager was abducted by a group of men in a rape case last year.
Paul Cruz, who lives a block away, said his dog Shiro brought home a leg bone at around 7 a.m. on Sunday, prompting him to call the police.
Responding officers later found other bones near the abandoned house.
Another leg bone was found from another private backyard while the backbone and ribcage were found by Cruz’s brother, Nicolas, behind a boonie area, just in front of the abandoned residence.
First call
Paul Cruz, a boat captain, said he woke up his wife upon seeing a bone in their frontyard that was brought by their dog Shiro. He called police at about 7 a.m.
He said he lets Shiro loose in the yard during nighttime.
“It’s been chewed off,” Paul Cruz told reporters, when asked to describe the human bone he found.
“There’s some flesh on it. It’s been chewed off. I knew that it was not an animal bone,” he said.
Other dogs in the neighborhood also found other bones, he added.
More bones
Nicolas Cruz told reporters he thought his younger brother was kidding when he, Paul Cruz, said his dog Shiro brought home a human bone.
“I found backbones,” said Nicolas Cruz, who works on a dive boat.
Police arrived in the area at about 9 a.m. on Sunday.
Nicolas Cruz said the area where he found the bones was already “stinking” last week. Other residents said they have been smelling the foul odor since last month.
“I thought they were left over from a barbeque party or a dead animal,” Nicolas Cruz told reporters, referring to the foul smell.
“The ribcage was way too curvy. It’s a teenager’s size,” he said, adding that the leg bone appeared to be not from an adult.
He said he found the human remains within the bushes in front of the abandoned residence.
There was also a plastic trash bag that appeared to have been dug up by dogs.
Nicolas Cruz said he found blue underwear with yellowish, orange stripe, and a pair of jeans.
He said the white pair of zorries had red strips.
Relatives
The missing girls’ grandfather, Elbert Quitugua, his wife Jane, and daughter Jermain, the sisters’ mother, were briefed by an FBI agent at the scene.
In an interview, Elbert Quitigua said an FBI special agent showed them pictures of pieces of clothing and a pair of zorries recovered from the crime scene, but he was not able to identify them.
He could not say if they belonged to the missing children.
Quitugua said he went to Kagman yesterday morning to verify information about the human remains found there.
He said he was met by Mafnas “who was arrogant and chased me out.”
“Our family is very anxious. We are very sad. We want to put closure on this,” Quitugua said.
Mafnas had yet to respond to inquiries of this reporter.
He said he was told that federal and local authorities were still working on the remains, but they could not say if they belonged to his granddaughters.
Quitugua said he was also told there was also a missing Chinese lady.
He is appealing to members of the community “who have any knowledge [about the girls’ disappearance] to come forward and help us.”
Stop rumors
In a statement to the media, acting Gov. Eloy S. Inos assured the public that a full investigation of this discovery has been ongoing since it was reported to police on Sunday morning. 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,” said Inos.
Officials from DPS and the Department of Public Health have coordinated efforts to collect and secure the bones from the scene of discovery, he added.
“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.
