“Help me find my girls and bring them home safely,” said Jermain Quitugua, the mother of the sisters who have been missing since Wednesday last week.
Family members also disclosed that a “tremendous amount” of reward money is being raised for any information regarding the whereabouts of Faloma and Maleina.
The search by local and federal authorities, together with volunteers, continues, said Department of Public Safety acting spokesperson PO2 Jason Tarkong.
Elbert Quitugua, the children’s grandparent, said he, his wife Jane and the missing girls’ mother Jermain were not summoned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as earlier reported by the Saipan Tribune.
He said, “We volunteered and agreed to assist them in their investigation.”
Everyone is a suspect, he quoted the FBI as saying. “Let us [allow them to] do their work,” Elbert Quitugua added.
Anicia Q. Tomokane, his sister, said their family deeply appreciates the outpouring of support from the community.
“We are sincerely humbled by your support and assistance,” she said.
Elbert Quitugua thanked the Department of Public Safety, federal agencies and the volunteers who continue arriving at their residence or at the Kagman Community Center to join the search.
“You are giving us courage to move on,” he said.
Louisa Borja Quitugua, 80, the girls’ great-grandmother, and her sisters Consolacion Borja Muna, 86, and Josepha Borja Ada, 74, together with the girls’ grand-aunt Florence Kirby and other relatives, also expressed gratitude to the community and the authorities.
Jane Quitugua, the girls’ grandmother, called on the community to continue being vigilant, and bringing the spirit of “bayanihan” [act of working together].
Kirby noted that on the day the girls were reported missing, the nation was observing the National Missing Children’s Month.
The family said they do not know if the missing girls’ father, a former Saipan police officer now based in Pohnpei, has contacted CNMI authorities.
They said the children’s father has not contacted them.
But the family said “DPS is doing a fantastic job” as they welcome the arrival of 20 additional FBI agents from the Child Abduction Response Deployment Team.
Tomokane noted that the children’s immediate family members should be the “first to know” if there are new developments in the investigation.
“We do have that right to know. We are very anxious to know what is happening,” she added.
“Every minute is like one whole day that has passed by,” she said.
At 6 p.m. last night, the family and members of the community held a candlelight vigil at the Santa Lourdes shrine in As Teo to mark the first week of the girls’ disappearance.
