The number of missing Maui residents has significantly increased in the past 48 hours.
The Official Tally of Missing People in Maui Increases
The devastating fires that swept through Maui have left a trail of destruction and heartbreak. The official count of missing individuals has recently seen a significant change, causing concern and uncertainty.
According to People, Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen initially reported that the number of missing people had dropped from 2,000 to 850. However, the FBI now estimates the number to be between 1,000 and 1,100, as reported by NBC.
“Every day the numbers will change,” said Steven Merrill, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Honolulu field office. “That being said, the number that we’re most concerned about is, obviously, trying to clear people from the list. And that has reliably gone down every day.”
The fires have tragically claimed the lives of 115 individuals since August 8. The list of missing people includes everyone who has not been accounted for, as explained by Merrill:
“We’re considering everybody on that list until we can prove they shouldn’t be on that list. We may not know in the end about everybody,” he said, according to The New York Times.
The search for both survivors and victims continues, but it may not yield conclusive results. DNA samples have been requested to aid in the identification of remains found in the ashes, as reported by The Western Journal.
Maui Police Chief John Pelletier emphasized the challenges faced in this search:
“Please understand this. Once the search is done, I can’t guarantee nor can anyone say we got everybody. We are going to do our darndest and make every effort to do that. We are going to do it right. We are not going to do it fast. We are not going to be in a rush. We got one chance. And when this is all said and done, realistically, let’s be honest here, we’re going to have a number of confirmed [dead], and we’re going to have a number of presumed [dead].”
Out of the initial 2,500 reported missing individuals, approximately 1,400 have been found alive, according to CBS. The details regarding the missing individuals have varied, ranging from limited information to more specific descriptions, as shared by Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen, as reported by Hawaii News Now.
Despite the challenges and discrepancies, families like Jason Musgrove’s remain determined to find their loved ones:
“The numbers are not adding up,” said Jason Musgrove, who has spent two weeks searching for his mother, Linda Vaikeli, 69. “I’m going to keep searching. I only have one opportunity to do this, to find my Mom.”
As the search continues, the list of missing Maui residents has grown substantially in the last two days, as highlighted by The Western Journal.
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