Washington Mudslide Update: Search Continues for Victims

March 30,2014

 

 

 

 

The official death toll in the massive Washington mudslide rose to 21 on Sunday as families coping with the loss of friends and neighbors sought comfort in church services and in each other. Despite the grim ongoing task of searching for victims, in the small community of Darrington, residents banded together to coordinate volunteer efforts and keep rescuers' spirits high, the Everett Herald reports.
On Saturday, rescue workers, volunteers and members of the community observed a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m., a week to the minute after the deadly mudslide roared through a rural neighborhood.
Many people have worked nonstop since the March 22 slide, some sifting through the mounds of debris for victims and others sorting supplies, cooking meals, helping to run the community center and providing each other with support. But three straight days of rain has made search efforts more difficult.
"Right now, we are in the process of rotating crews," Jason Bierman of Snohomish City Department of Emergency Management said Sunday night. "The crews out there have been working for a week virtually non-stop in very tough conditions. The number of personnel in the field will not change but we are giving those crews a break."
(MORE: The Faces of the Missing)

Fifteen victims have been identified by the Snohomish County medical examiner, and six have yet to be identified, Biermann said.
Another four bodies were found in the debris field on Sunday. About 30 people remain missing.
Crews have completed a makeshift road that will link one side of the debris field to the other, significantly aiding the recovery operation.
They have also been working to clear mud and debris from the highway, leaving piles of gooey muck, splintered wood and housing insulation on the sides of the road.
Searchers have had to contend with treacherous conditions, including septic tanks, gasoline and propane containers. When rescuers and dogs leave the site, they are hosed off by hazardous materials crews.
Many of the dogs that have been essential in the search will also take a two-day break, rescue crews said. Days of working in the cold and rain have taken their toll on the animals, and officials say the dogs can lose their sensing ability if overworked.
(MORE: Here's How You Can Help the Victims of This Disaster)
"The conditions on the slide field are difficult, so this is just a time to take care of the dogs," said Kris Rietmann, a spokeswoman for the team working on the eastern portion of the slide, which hit March 22 about 55 miles northeast of Seattle and is one of the deadliest in U.S. history.
Dogs from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that arrived more recently will continue working, said Heidi Amrine, another spokeswoman for the operation.
Finding and identifying all the victims could stretch on for a very long time, and authorities have warned that not everyone may ultimately be accounted for after one of the deadliest landslides in U.S. history.
The county medical examiner's office has so far formally identified 11 victims: Christina Jefferds, 45, of Arlington; Sanoah Violet Huestis, 4 months, of Arlington; Stephen A. Neal, 55, of Darrington; Linda L. McPherson, 69, of Arlington; Kaylee B. Spillers, 5, of Arlington; William E. Welsh, 66, of Arlington; Summer Raffo, 36, of Concrete and John Regelbrugge III, 49; Joseph R. Miller, 47;  Julie A. Farnes, 59; Shane Ruthven, 43; all of Oso.
Thirty people remained missing on Sunday night. Five people injured by the mudslide remain in a Seattle hospital, including a 5-month-old boy in critical condition.

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Search and rescue workers and a search dog work Thursday, March 27, 2014, searching for victims in the mud and