Maui wildfire: Authorities identify 101st victim

Maui fire. — Another victim identified: File photo. The death toll in the wildfire that hit Maui last August rose to 101. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

By Bob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

February 13, 2024 at 6:40 pm EST

HONOLULU — Hawaiian authorities on Tuesday identified the 101st victim from August’s wildfire on Maui.

According to Maui County officials, Paul Kasprzycki, 76, of Lahaina, had been previously unaccounted for, Hawaii News Now reported.

He had been on an original list of 388 people who had not been identified after the wildfire struck the island on Aug. 8, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Kasprzycki was one of the three people whose names remained on the Maui Police Department’s “credible list of missing/unaccounted for individuals,” Hawaii News Now reported.

BREAKING: Paul Kasprzycki, 76, was identified as the latest victim after his family was notified. ⤵️ https://t.co/8Td1df7TPC #HInews #MauiFires
— Star-Advertiser (@StarAdvertiser) February 13, 2024

According to a news release from the Maui Police Department, the agency’s cold case division located Kasprzycki on Feb. 9. Officials did not say where his remains were found, The Associated Press reported.

As of Tuesday, all 101 known fire victims have been identified, according to the news organization. Two other people remain on the missing list -- Robert H. Owens and Elmer Lee Stevens, Hawaii News Now reported.

“Throughout this event, MPD and assisting partners have been working tirelessly to ensure that proper protocols are followed while notifying the families of the victims involved,” the Maui Police Department said in a statement. “Our priority is to handle this situation with the utmost sensitivity and respect for those who are grieving.”

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