Posters are posted in store windows asking for help finding a missing man after the Lahaina fire. The number of people reported as “missing” has changed significantly this week.
Bill Chappell/NPR
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Bill Chappell/NPR
Posters are posted in store windows asking for help finding a missing man after the Lahaina fire. The number of people reported as “missing” has changed significantly this week.
Bill Chappell/NPR
MAUI, Hawaii – Maui County officials say 388 names are on the “verified list” of people missing after the Aug. 8 wildfire in Lahaina, and the list could continue to decline. He added that the FBI has created a new list.
Within 24 hours of the list being published, numerous members of the public contacted us to provide further information about the person named FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen Merrill.
“We have been contacted by at least 100 people who have told us that certain individuals should not be on the list,” Merrill said at a press conference Friday, providing an update on the process. Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said revising the verified list will take time because they want to make sure the information they receive is accurate.
This new figure is in sharp contrast to at least 1,000 people who were deemed “missing” earlier this week. Merrill said this small number is a “subset” of the main list and that officials “will not rest” until they know the status of each person on that larger list.
Basic criteria were used to “validate” the names on the list
Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said the “verified list” reflects a simple standard: people reported by first and last name and the caller's verified contact number. said.
Beyond these requirements, the county initially did not explain the discrepancies between the much larger list and the new list, saying both were the result of an FBI analysis.
Pelletier acknowledged that releasing the names would likely cause distress, but said: “We are releasing this list of names today because we know it will aid the investigation.”
“We also know that once these names are made public, they can and will continue to cause pain to those whose loved ones are on the list,” he said. said. “This is not an easy task, but we want to do everything we can to make this investigation as complete and thorough as possible.”
Some of the names on the list have been previously published in an online spreadsheet that grew out of the Maui community's grassroots efforts to find their loved ones. However, there are cases where the names are unique.
The county released a verified list saying 1,732 people who were reported missing at some point during the disaster have since been found safe and well.
Efforts to “eliminate duplication of people”
The revised numbers were revealed late Thursday after Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said the FBI was working to “eliminate duplication” of people reported missing. Mr Green predicted that by taking steps such as confirming official names, that number would be “significantly reduced”.
This is the third time that the number of missing persons has fluctuated significantly. This week began with an announcement from Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen that that number has been reduced to 850. But shortly afterward, FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen Merrill said there were “1,000 to 1,100” names on the missing persons list.
Merrill said the effort was complicated by two main factors. One is the lack of detail in some reports, and the list of missing persons ranges from government agencies to records kept by shelters.
The number of deaths remained unchanged
While the number of missing people has changed, another number has remained stable for much of this week. The tragedy killed 115 people, making it the deadliest fire in the United States in 100 years.
Maui police said 46 bodies had been identified as of Thursday. In 35 of those cases, family members have been found and reported missing.
Authorities have repeatedly asked the parents, siblings and children of the missing people to provide DNA samples to help analysts identify recovered remains.
To provide a DNA sample from an oral swab, people on Maui can go to the Family Assistance Center located in the ballroom of the Hyatt Regency in Kaanapali. Relatives living on other islands or in the continental United States can call the FBI at (808) 566-4300 or email HN-COMMAND-POST@ic.fbi.gov for guidance on providing samples. You can get it.
