Police identifies two more victims of fire; tally of missing estimated at 850 | News, Sports, Jobs

The Maui News

Maui County and the Maui Police Department confirmed the identities of two more victims of the Lahaina fire as the death toll rose by one to 115 on Monday.

The two individuals, whose next of kin have been notified, are 59-year-old Douglas Gloege of Lahaina and 45-year-old Juan Deleon of Lahaina, police said Monday.

A total of 13 victims have now been identified, with their families notified, according to police. Another 22 individuals have been identified, but their families have not been located or notified.

Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said in a video posted on the county’s social media Sunday evening that the number of people unaccounted for due to the fire is estimated at 850. He said family members have been providing names to the Red Cross, FBI Honolulu, MPD and the Maui Emergency Management Agency, and recently the FBI combined and refined the list to calculate the number of people believed missing.

“There is positive news in this number because when this process began, the missing person list contained over 2,000 names,” Bissen said. “Through the tireless work of the FBI and the Maui Police Department, over 1,285 individuals have been located safe. We are both saddened and relieved about these numbers as we continue the recovery process. The number identified will rise and the number of missing may decrease, but there will be daily fluctuations in the number as family members are added and removed from the list.”

The mayor said that family members who are looking for relatives and want to provide DNA samples to help in the process should visit the Family Assistance Center at the Hyatt Regency’s Monarch Ballroom at 200 Nohea Kai Dr. in Kaanapali between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. daily. Family members on Neighbor Islands or the continental U.S. can call the FBI at (808) 566-4300.

Bissen also plans to hold a news conference today, with the time to be determined. Members of the public can email questions to community@mauicounty.gov.

“I will do my best to respond to your questions,” Bissen said. “Our lives have changed forever and things will not be the same. What will be the same is the way we care for each other as we grieve and go through this together.”

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