The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Maui police have made a public plea for DNA samples and specific identifying information as they work through a list of 1,000 to 1,100 people who are unaccounted for after the wildfires that leveled Lahaina and killed at least 115.
Fifteen days after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in 100 years, a list of the missing has not been made public.
Maui police Chief John Pelletier told reporters Tuesday that a list of names and other information about unaccounted-for people would be released in the next few days.
The names of seven Lahaina residents and a California woman killed in the Aug. 8 fire were released Tuesday.
Lahaina residents Clyde Wakida, 74, Todd Yamafuji, 68, Antonia Molina, 64, Freeman Tam Lung, 59, Joseph Schilling, 67, Narciso Baylosis Jr., 67, Vanessa Baylosis, 67; and Theresa Cook, 72, of California, were identified by the county.
Of the 115 fatalities, 21 people have been identified and their families notified. Twenty-two others have been identified, but their families have yet to be located or notified.
FBI agents and victim specialists made multiple death notifications around the country this week, Steven Merrill, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Honolulu Field Office, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in an interview.
Difficult process
FBI agents, members of the bureau’s evidence response team and forensic science experts are working with Maui police to pull together a comprehensive list from multiple sources.
Agents and police are also working with human remains and managing physical and emotional trauma, which is “incredibly difficult,” Merrill said.
Merrill said he understands the frustration from family members and the public about the “painstaking,” slow process.
The bureau is committed to assisting Maui police with accounting for the true human toll of the tragedy, he said, but that takes time.
“We need to make sure … for the victims’ sake, we are leaving no stone unturned and working as hard as we can to identify these unidentified, unaccounted-for persons,” said Merrill. “We are asking a lot of the public, particularly the family members of the victims. I wouldn’t have much patience if I were them, either. We do have a process in place … to collect this information, identify all the victims and hopefully find those who are unaccounted for and are doing OK.”
The source lists the FBI is working off come from family members, the Red Cross, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, official missing-person reports filed with police, crowdsourced lists like the Maui Fires People Locator, state agencies, private businesses and traditional investigation.
Among the data used to identify people in Lahaina during the fire are mailing addresses, mobile phone location data, hotel reservations, business payroll information, utility connections, financial transactions and other data generated by human users.
The bureau’s efforts on Maui are being aided by a command post in Kapolei staffed by agents and intelligence analysts.
DNA samples
Merrill urged family members of the missing to submit DNA samples. Officials have collected 104 DNA samples from families so far.
Speaking at a news conference Tuesday in the county building in Wailuku, Merrill told reporters that agents and police are combining lists of unaccounted-for people and trying to account for everyone.
He called for as much specific identifying information as possible and multiple DNA samples from family of unaccounted people.
“Please, follow … up to ensure they have the most accurate and up-to-date information,” said Merrill, who noted some list entries include only a first name and a phone number. “We may not know, in the end, about everybody. We need families to come forward and create their samples. This is a critical step. The DNA can be used to link family members together.”
Maui Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Martin made clear Tuesday that the DNA samples would not be placed in any database, nor would they be used for any purpose other than identification of victims and the unaccounted for.
“It is not going to be used or entered into a criminal justice data set,” said Martin. “All we want to do is help people locate and identify their unaccounted-for loved ones.”
Maui Police Chief John Pelletier, in response to a reporter’s question, said the department will eventually release a list of names and identifying information.
Pelletier cautioned that while there may be no minors currently listed as unaccounted for, it is hard to say how many died in the fire.
”I don’t know the answer because we are not recovering whole bodies. We are picking up ash. Some of it’s crumbled. … We do know at some point we will be releasing the names of children,” Pelletier told reporters Tuesday. “I really … can’t give you the exact number. … We’re still sorting through it.”
Official reports
He urged people looking for family and friends to file official missing-person reports with police.
Despite over 1,000 people missing, Pelletier said he has only 85 missing-person reports and urged people to email unaccounted@mpd.net and file a formal report.
“We want you to do a report,” said Pelletier. “I have 85 (missing- person reports). If you are serious, do a police report.”
Six detectives from the Honolulu Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division and six peer counselors flew to Maui on Friday, according to HPD, and will return Friday.
“We are continuing to work with MPD and other state and county agencies on additional requests for assistance,” HPD spokesperson Michelle Yu told the Star-Advertiser. “We will continue to support MPD in whatever ways we can.”
On Tuesday, Maui County officials did not respond to Star- Advertiser questions about how police and firefighters coordinated response with the Maui Emergency Management Agency to close roads, coordinate evacuations and allocate firefighting and police resources on Aug. 8.
County officials also did not reply to questions about how many fire victims were recovered from the water off of Front Street and from the Hale Mahalolu Eono senior independent-living complex.
On Monday night the Maui Department of the Corporation Counsel issued guidance to county officials doing one-on-one interviews with the media and speaking engagements with the community asking that questions and topics be vetted by county attorneys first.
The guidance was issued in light of multiple civil actions naming the county as a defendant and seeking damages in the aftermath of the fires.
Maui corporation counsel Victoria J. Takayesu and first deputy Mimi DesJardins did not respond to a Star-Advertiser request for comment about the guidance to first responders regarding speaking with the media and public.
HELP IN FINDING MISSING FAMILY
>> The FBI’s Honolulu Division is helping collect DNA samples from family members to assist MPD’s efforts to identify victims of the Lahaina wildfire. Immediate family members — parents, siblings and children — of those still missing may go to the Hyatt Regency Kaanapali daily between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. to provide DNA samples.
>> The Maui Police Department asks that missing-person reports be made at unaccounted@mpd.net.
>> Those on other islands or the mainland should call the FBI at 808-566-4300 or email HN-COMMAND-POST@ic.fbi.gov and provide contact information so that further instructions can be provided.
