Roster Of Missing Loved Ones Now Fewer Than 300
Once 12,000, a precious few are unfound after Katrina and Rita
Release Date: May 18, 2006
Release Number: 1603-479
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BATON ROUGE, La. -- A small brass bell hangs on a wall in an office in Baton Rouge. It is a ship's bell, the kind whose muffled chime you might hear along the coast when small craft pass unobserved in fog.
However, this bell has a different report. It produces a ring so clear and joyful that the vibrations are sometimes felt a thousand miles away. The bell is rung by the staff of the Louisiana Family Assistance Center (LFAC) each time a person listed as missing after Hurricane Katrina or Rita is found alive and their family notified.
Late Tuesday night the bell was rung for another newly discovered person, signaling that fewer than 300 loved ones are yet to be located.
"Our staff has reunited families whose members have been scattered through many different states," said Dr. Louis Cataldie, medical incident commander for Louisiana and director of the program. "Through May 14, we had located all but 325 of our missing sons, daughters, mothers and fathers; and we have dedicated all of our energy to finding these missing persons. We are working from a list which once included more than 12,000 names and now we have fewer than 300 on the list."
"We are extremely proud of the success that the Louisiana Family Assistance Center has earned," said Jim Stark, acting director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Transitional Recovery Office in New Orleans . Funding provided by FEMA has helped to support the center's work to reunite loved ones.
The odds get a little greater each week. Anchored in an impressive start during which the center's staff of up to 200 located as many as 50 persons each day, the number of missing has been reduced to a precious few. Now, eight months after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, it's likely that many of the lost will not be found. Some may have been swept away forever in the flood waters, and some may not want to be found.
Inside the large, open workroom of the center, the search continues. Each week, more requests to find lost family and friends arrive at the center, now staffed by 100, including some very highly skilled volunteers. The caller provides a physical description of their loved one; names of doctors and dentists; a medical history, including dental work or joint replacements; and unique characteristics such as tattoos, scars and birthmarks to identify the missing person.
Sometimes the inquiry is resolved by DNA tests and the news is sad. The missing loved one is determined to be among the unknown victims of Hurricanes Katrina or Rita in a morgue awaiting identification. The LFAC makes the notification to the family when their loved one is identified as a victim of the hurricanes, guides them through the process of filing all the necessary paperwork, and coordinates for the release of their loved ones remains to a funeral home for burial - bringing closure to a long ordeal that until then had been entirely open-ended.
Whenever a family is reunified with loved ones in this way, it is accompanied by the honk of an old fashioned bike horn. This process is no less important to families and deserves recognition, though the recognition is bittersweet.
Whether the bell is rung or the horn is honked, the entire staff within the center takes a few moments of appreciative applause knowing that loved ones have been reunited . Cataldie said that people are found in a wide range of ways, "world class search techniques are certainly brought to bear," and sometimes people simply reappear when they get a driver's license or register to vote. More often, the search involves hours of telephone calls and days of data searches.
The LFAC is the national collection point for information on separated family members or those who may have perished in Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. It is a joint effort between the State of Louisiana 's Department of Health and Hospitals, Louisiana State Police, FEMA and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. If you lived in south Louisiana before the storms, you are encouraged to check the official missing list at www.familyassist.us to see if anyone is searching for you.
You may also still report a loved one you suspect has been a victim of either hurricane by calling toll-free to 1-866-326-9393 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. CDT any day. All information gathered by the LFAC is held in the strictest confidence and used only for the purpose of identifying and reuniting loved ones.
FEMA manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
Last Modified: Thursday, 18-May-2006 14:40:45