Number of missing people after Maui wildfires increase to 1,110 as FBI plans to release list of names this week
The number of missing people on Maui has risen by 250 to 1,100 two weeks after deadly fires devastated the island and killed more than 115 people.
The fires were the deadliest to hit the United States in a century, and search and rescue efforts were slow.
Few of the dead have been publicly identified, and crews have searched the devastations to locate those missing. There are fears that the death toll will rise further if missing persons are found.
The tourist town of Lahaina, home to 12,000 people, was virtually wiped off the map, with thousands of missing persons appearing on lists maintained by various organizations, including the police, Red Cross and shelters.
The FBI had counted 1,100 missing persons on Tuesday and is now working to collect and verify the data with a list to be released later this week, Special Agent Steven Merrill told reporters Tuesday.
“We’re comparing all the lists so we can determine who’s really still missing,” Merrill said.
The Hawaiian island of Maui has increased the number of people missing from the Lahaina firestorm to 1,100, two weeks after deadly wildfires devastated the island, authorities said Tuesday.
The FBI has set up a special telephone hotline – (808) 566-4300 – and has encouraged relatives of the missing to contact them.
“We really need the public’s help,” Merrill said, especially when it comes to getting additional information to verify the details of some of the missing.
Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said authorities were refining the data and hoped to publish a verified list of missing persons “in the coming days.”
FBI agents have also collected DNA samples from the families of the missing who are unable to travel to Maui.
Identifying the unrecognizable bodies found in Lahaina’s ashes is a painstaking task.
Having the DNA of the families of the missing “is a critical step in identifying the victims,” said Julie French, vice president of ANDE, the company responsible for these operations.
“Nearly three-quarters of the remains tested for DNA to date have yielded searchable DNA results,” she said.
The latest preliminary death toll said the fires were the deadliest to hit the United States in a century, claiming at least 115 lives.
A general view shows the aftermath of a devastating wildfire in Lahaina on Tuesday
FBI agents have also collected DNA samples from the families of the missing who are unable to travel to Maui, wherever they are in the world.
The tourist town of Lahaina, home to 12,000 people, was virtually wiped off the map, with thousands of missing persons appearing on lists maintained by various organizations, including the police, Red Cross and shelters.
As of Tuesday, the FBI had counted 1,100 missing persons, an increase of 850, and this number is likely to rise
The FBI is now working to collect and verify the data with a list to be released later this week
But without DNA from relatives against which to compare this data, the process is useless.
Only 104 DNA samples have been collected so far from relatives of the missing or dead, and authorities were keen to dispel any suspicion of the process.
“The DNA profiles are not being held by the FBI” or the police, said Andrew Martin, Maui County District Attorney.
“The only purpose for which it will be used is to help identify missing persons.”
President Joe Biden and his wife Jill arrived on Maui Monday to explore the areas devastated by the wildfires.
Amid growing criticism of the perceived lack of federal support, Biden’s visit would always remain controversial, and the president’s motorcade was met with boos and jeers, with some raising their middle fingers and waving Trump 2024 flags.
Biden did little to endear himself to the traumatized islanders. He gave an extended speech referring to the deaths of his wife and infant daughter in 1972, and later related an anecdote about a 2004 kitchen fire at his Delaware home.
When he met one of the rescue workers, Biden then made a clumsy joke about the need for protective footwear, telling the worker, “Hot ground!”
Ethan Meyers, right, carries crosses to hang in honor of those killed in the wildfires
The FBI has set up a special telephone hotline and encouraged relatives of the missing to contact them
Identifying the unrecognizable bodies found in Lahaina’s ashes is a painstaking task
Having the DNA of the families of the missing “is a critical step in identifying the victims,” said Julie French, vice president of ANDE, the company responsible for these operations.
Only 104 DNA samples have been collected so far from relatives of the missing or dead, and authorities were keen to dispel any suspicion of the process
President Joe Biden and his wife Jill arrived on Maui Monday to explore areas devastated by the wildfires
His appearance at the memorial gave critics even more ammunition.
According to the Maui Police Department, 115 deaths were confirmed as of Monday. So far, only 27 of the 115 victims have been identified.
All single-story homes in the disaster area had been searched, and teams were moving to search multi-story homes and commercial properties, Maui County officials said in an update late Monday.
Rescue crews have set up distribution sites offering food, water and supplies to those affected by the wildfires. Internet and electricity services are still being restored in affected areas.