Haitian officials have charged 10 US missionaries with child abduction and criminal conspiracy for allegedly trying to smuggle 33 children out of the country.

The cases will now be heard by an investigating judge who will decide if the cases should proceed to trial.

The alleged abducters were stopped on the Haiti/ Dominican Republic border last Friday, when children were found on their bus.

While the missionaries said they were taking the children to an orphanage in the Dominican Republic, it has since emerged the youngsters mostly had parents who are still alive.

The 10 missionaries are now in a Haitian jail.

The five men and five women, most of them from Idaho, have already been labelled as "kidnappers" by Haiti's Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive.

While there have been suggestions the 10 could be tried in the US due to administrative chaos in Haiti since the earthquake, the Haitian Justice Minister, Paul Denis, has said the trial should be in the country where the alleged offences took place.

Much damage was done to the country's judicial infrastructure during the earthquake, with many casualties among judges and court staff.