Authorities in the United States have confirmed that at least 1,100 individuals remain unaccounted for two weeks after deadly forest fires ravaged the island of Maui in Hawaii. The FBI is seeking the assistance of victims’ families to help identify them.
Maui’s forest fires, described as the deadliest in the US in a century, have left at least 1,100 people missing, as stated by Hawaii authorities last Wednesday. The initial toll suggests at least 115 fatalities resulted from the catastrophic blazes.
The town of Lahaina, home to 12,000 residents, is nearly completely devastated. Lists from various organizations, including the Red Cross, local police, and shelters, indicate thousands are missing.
The FBI is currently working diligently to gather and verify data. “We are cross-referencing all lists to identify the actual number of people still missing,” FBI Special Agent Steven Merrill informed reporters on Tuesday. As of Tuesday, the FBI had confirmed the figure of 1,100 missing, a number Merrill believes might rise.
Identifying the Victims
The FBI has set up hotlines and urges relatives of the missing to get in touch. “We genuinely need the community’s help,” Merrill stated, especially concerning additional details to verify some of the missing individuals’ information.
Maui Police Chief John Beltier reported that authorities are validating data, hoping to release a confirmed list of the missing “in the coming days.”
FBI agents are also gathering DNA samples from the families of the missing who cannot travel to Maui, regardless of their global location. Identifying bodies that are hard to recognize in Lahaina is a challenging task. So far, only 27 out of the 115 victims have been identified.
Julie French, the head of ANDE Corporation responsible for the operation, emphasized that obtaining the DNA of the missing persons’ families is “a crucial step for identifying” the victims. “About three-quarters of the remains examined so far have yielded usable DNA results for identification,” she added.
However, this process won’t bear fruit unless there’s DNA from relatives for comparison. Only 104 DNA samples from the families of the deceased or missing have been collected so far. Authorities are working to dispel any mistrust towards the procedure.
Maui District Attorney Andrew Martin clarified that neither the FBI nor the police “retain DNA records. Their sole purpose will be to assist in identifying the missing.”
