[BlackbirdSST]

They were missing only in the sense that no one knew where they were. Turns out they were down the road somewhere having successfully fled the area. No longer missing, and not dead.

Got link?

[babble-on]

That initial count was just people calling in and saying, “My dad lived in Lahaina and I can’t get in touch with him.” So then he’s “missing.” The they turn the cell phones back on, and he’s fine. No longer missing. Not dead.

August 18

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/maui-wildfires-death-toll-identifying-remains-rcna100632

About 78% of a designated burn zone that includes the historic seaside town of Lahaina, home to about 12,000 people, had been searched as of Friday night, officials said.

Initially, the number of people believed missing was pegged at more than 2,000, but that number has since fallen, as cellphone communications have been restored and loved ones have been able to make contact. Still, unofficial online lists of the missing are circulating, and people have turned to social media and missing persons posters for help.

Arriving at an accurate count in a mass casualty disaster, particularly one as sprawling and destructive as a wildfire, can take months or even years, researchers and forensic anthropologists say — and that’s if the recovery and identification of all victims can be realized at all.