The number of people missing in the Washington state landslide dropped to 13 Friday afternoon as the community remembered the victims with a vigil.
The Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office said a 29th victim of the March 22 landslide near Oso was identified Friday and the name would be released after notification of next of kin. The death toll stands at 30.
One name was removed from the list of the missing, along with an unidentified 50- to 60-year-old man who was added just Thursday. Shari Ireton, director of communications for Snohomish County, noted that the unidentified man’s body already was at the medical examiner’s office, NBC station KING5 of Seattle reported. That brought the missing list down to 13 names. At one time, more than 150 people were feared to be missing.
Gov. Jay Inslee attended a vigil for the victims Friday night in Arlington, west of the slide. Services for some of the victims were scheduled for Saturday.
Meanwhile, searchers were anxiously watching the weather after heavy rain overnight Thursday hampered work in the slide area. The weekend forecast for Darrington was for rain Friday night through to Sunday, with drier weather to follow.
The National Weather Service said that a huge pool in the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River east of a debris dam caused by the slide would trend upward through the weekend before cresting Sunday afternoon. The weather service said that would push water back into areas from which it had been receding this week. A flood warning remained in effect for the areas east of the slide until next Thursday.
The Internal Revenue Service said it was giving slide victims until Oct. 15 to file and pay taxes.
— Gil Aegerter