Maui officials announced Friday that the list released the previous day of 388 names of people still missing from the Aug. 8 wildfires is only a “subset” — and that “hundreds” are still missing.
The first official list of “confirmed names” was released Thursday night, 16 days after the fires in the historic town of Lahaina – ending weeks of speculation that as many as 1,500 people could still be missing.
The 388 names were considered “confirmed” because they included a first name, a last name and the details of the person who reported them missing.
But officials on Friday admitted that this list is just part of a much larger list that they are also working from. They didn’t say how many people were on that second list. They also don’t release live updates of the list, which means many people who have said they are fine are still listed as missing.
“The 388 names were names that we had more information about,” said Steven Merrill, FBI special agent in charge in Honolulu.
“That’s why we released that first.”
“We have hundreds of other names that we need more information on.”
“These 388 names are a subset of a larger list.” “We care about every single person on this list and will not rest until we know how every single person on this list is doing.”
Steven Merrill, FBI special agent in charge in Honolulu, announced on Friday that the list of 388 names released the previous day was only a “subset”. The names were described as “confirmed” but around 100 of the 388 have come forward, saying they are safe and sound. The list is not updated publicly, causing frustration for those who were mistakenly listed as missing
Search and rescue teams with cadaver dogs search areas devastated by a wildfire in Lahaina, Maui, on August 18
Merrill said “100 people or more” were removed from the list of 388 names.
He added, “We also welcome the addition of more individuals to the list.”
Merrill said they received “thousands of reports” of missing persons and were able to locate “two-thirds” of them on that list.
While the initial confusion over the number of missing was understandable given the communications and power outages and communities scattered, it has become less and less justifiable as the weeks have passed.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said Sunday that more than 1,000 people remain missing.
Maui Mayor Richard Bissen then said in a pre-recorded video on Instagram that the number was 850.
And during President Joe Biden’s tour of the devastation Monday, White House Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall put the number between 500 and 800.
Police Chief John Pelletier on Friday defended the slow process in identifying the dead and missing.
“We have to check every single caller to make sure it’s what it appears to be,” he said.
“We want to create an updated list.”
“We’re going to do it right, not fast.”
Maui Police Chief John Pelletier insisted they would get the job done “right, not fast.”
The ruins of Lahaina are pictured on August 10, two days after the fire
Officials on Maui have completed 99 percent of their search, they said Friday
Pelletier said he would like to update the missing persons list on a weekly basis, although he cannot guarantee that will happen.
“We confirm that they are indeed alive,” he said.
“We don’t want to be hasty and just take them off.” Unfortunately, people aren’t as honest and don’t report with integrity when they call.
“We can’t just come in here and say we’ve lowered it to 150 – that would be great, but it would be unrealistic.”
“There’s no secrecy of hidden agendas – we’re going as fast as we can, but we’re doing it right.”
The search of the fire zone is almost complete: Officials said it was “99 percent complete” and all they had to do was continue their underwater search and revisiting any sites they wanted to double check.
“We’ll keep going until the experts tell us there’s nothing left to save,” Mayor Bissen said.
“And we’re very close.”
The death toll remained at 115, with 46 of those bodies identified so far.
Of the 46 people, 36 relatives had been informed, while 11 had not yet been located or informed.
A member of Combined Joint Task Force 50 (CJTF-50) Search, Rescue and Recovery conducts a search Aug. 15
Some of those who found their names on List 388 said they were shocked and could not have received confirmation that they had been removed.
Heidi Mazur, from Lahaina, was frustrated to be on the list even though she was active on Facebook and started an online fundraiser after the fire.
“They’ll find me in New York in a minute if I don’t pay my license plates or taxes, but they can’t seem to locate me in a disaster here in Lahaina!” she told AP.
MalamaKai Watson, 40, was not in Lahaina during the fires but was on the other side of the island.
After her cell phone and internet service went down, she realized when she first appeared on a basic Facebook missing people list.
But after she was able to get in touch with her loved ones, she was quickly listed as found.
She was amazed to be on the new, more official list.
She called the FBI to say she was safe, but couldn’t see any changes online Friday.
“Now it’s annoying,” she said.
“There are people there who are definitely missing.” “The focus has to be on the people who have yet to be found.”
Seth Alberico, a Bay Area soccer coach, said his name and that of his daughter Kalia had previously been floating around on the unofficial, crowd-sourced list, but he didn’t realize they were also on the new “verified” list stood until AP told him.
“I would like to be taken off the list,” he said. “We’re both safe.”
At the time of the fire, he was living in a condo on Kaanapali Beach, not far from the fire area.
A former player knew he’d been to Maui and that he had a daughter, and she reported her missing when she couldn’t reach him on Facebook later, he said.
His daughter wasn’t even with him, he said.
He said he’s been messaging on Facebook and Instagram trying to get unlisted – to no avail.
Earlier in the week, officials asked relatives of those still missing to come forward and provide DNA samples to help identify the remains. They promised that the samples would not be entered into law enforcement databases or used in any other way.
At that point, DNA had only been taken from 104 families, a number officials said was worryingly low.
Maui Attorney Andrew Martin, who heads the family support center, said there has been a slight increase in sample donations since then, but “we’re still not where we want to be.”
One of the many reasons people might hesitate is a “historical and generational distrust of government,” Martin said, referring to a sentiment that had its roots in the fall of the Hawaiian kingdom in 1893.