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Lahaina woman dies from Aug. 8 wildfire injuries as death toll grows to 100

JAMM AQUINO / SEPT. 29
                                The confirmed official death toll from the Aug. 8 Lahaina wildfire is now 100, and four people are listed as still missing by the Maui Police Department. Shown here, the burned-out remains of homes in Lahaina.

JAMM AQUINO / SEPT. 29

The confirmed official death toll from the Aug. 8 Lahaina wildfire is now 100, and four people are listed as still missing by the Maui Police Department. Shown here, the burned-out remains of homes in Lahaina.

Maui police have released the name of a Lahaina resident as among 100 confirmed Aug. 8 wildfire fatalities.

Sharlene Rabang, 78, of Lahaina, was publicly identified Tuesday.

Rabang died Oct. 16 from injuries sustained in the Aug. 8 wildfire that destroyed much of Lahaina, authorities said.

Maui County also revised the number of confirmed fatalities to 100, up from 99 previously.

Of the 100 confirmed fatalities, 99 have been publicly identified after notification of next of kin. One has yet to be identified.

The youngest victim was 7 and the oldest was 97. Several were residents of a low-income senior apartment complex. Of the victims, 44 were 70 or older.

Authorities have identified 99 victims in a process that has proved long and complicated. Forensic experts and cadaver dogs sifted through ash searching for bodies that were possibly cremated, and authorities collected DNA samples from victims’ family members.

The Maui Police Department also has a list of four people still missing from the Aug. 8 catastrophe: Lydia Coloma, Paul Kaspryzycki, Robert H. Owens and Elmer Lee Stevens.

Maui Police Chief John Pelletier has said only those people who have a formal missing-person report filed with MPD are included on the county’s official list of the missing.


Click here to view a list of individuals who have been confirmed dead by authorities as a result of the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfire in Lahaina.


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