10 More Bodies Found in Washington Mudslide, Unofficial Death Toll Now 24

ARLINGTON, Washington — The death toll continues to rise following a massive mudslide in Oso, Wash., over the weekend. Local search and rescue officials pulled two more bodies from the wreckage on Tuesday, bringing the official death toll to 16 since Saturday’s slide. An additional eight bodies were discovered on Tuesday, but search and rescue teams were unable to extract them, according to Travis Hots, fire chief for Snohomish County Fire Protection District 21.That brings the unofficial death count to 24. Search and rescue teams spent Tuesday battling rainy conditions in their search for missing people. As of Tuesday night, that number remained at 176 missing, although officials said they believe some of those reported may be duplicates. The rain turned many of the service roads used by emergency crews into a muddy mess, restricting access to some areas and creating a much slower-than-desired pace. Hots described certain areas as feeling as slippery as “ice,” and found one car that was completely twisted by the force of the slide. “It’s slow going,” he said. “It can take you five minutes to walk 40 feet.” More than 200 search and rescue responders were out in the field on Tuesday, and the crews used miniature bulldozers and search dogs to help locate the missing. Authorities have also been messaging people’s cellphones in hopes that they will notify nearby responders. Despite few survivors, Hots said he still considers this a rescue mission, and not a recovery mission. Search officials will slow down overnight when visibility jeopardizes responder safety, but will continue Wednesday. The news has created a stir in the otherwise quiet area known as Oso, roughly 60 miles north of Seattle. National and international media have flocked to nearby Arlington where authorities have been updating the press, and residents have been helping with search and rescue where possible. Others have been simply trying to monitor the evolving story. Candy Toomey, a nearby resident who lives off highway 530 near Arlington, has been using a police-scanner app called Scanner Radio to follow along with updates from local authorities. Her daughter, Kaitlyn, a senior at Arlington High School, said that while she doesn’t know of any classmates still missing in the debris, she was touched Tuesday morning when the school’s principal held a moment of silence over the PA system. Multiple residents from the nearby communities of Arlington (12 miles west of Oso) and Darrington (15 miles east) described the whole area as a “family." Toomey is a single mother who lives with Kaitlyn in a travel trailer several miles from the slide zone, she said. Local NBC affiliate KING 5 News featured Kaitlyn and her volunteer efforts in a spotlight in 2012 when the family was living in a minivan. Toomey said friends and neighbors never turned their back on them or their living situation following the news feature. Some anonymous donors even donated money for the Toomey family to move into a trailer. “A lot of people [in this area] greet you with open arms,” Toomey said. “It’s like one big family.”

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Write by: Dj Donk - Wednesday, March 26, 2014