‘I’m just a human’: Anthropologist works to identify Maui victims
- At least 111 wildfire victims have been confirmed dead as search continues
- Anthropologists work to identify the victims through a difficult process
- Mann: 'We deal with fragmented remains, sometimes with burned remains'
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LAHAINA, Hawaii (NewsNation) — Maui wildfire deaths have risen to 111 as search and rescue crews continue to cover fire-affected ground. The process of identifying the victims will be a long, grueling and difficult task.
Dr. Robert Mann, who once helped identify the remains of 9/11 victims, is now helping to identify those lost in the Hawaiian wildfires. Mann said his team is working their very best to provide answers to the families of the missing.
Mann, one of the leading forensic anthropologists in the field and an adjunct professor of anatomy and pathology at the John A. Burns Schools of Medicine at the University of Hawaii, said it is common for anthropologists to help identify mass casualty and mass disaster victims.
“We bring a special skill set to this, where we deal with fragmented remains, sometimes with burned remains,” Mann said. “The purpose of all this is to try to be involved and to assist in the three stages of recovery.”
The three steps are: Search, recovery and identification of the individuals who are missing, Mann said.
“We’re hoping to be part of this team that I think is doing their very best with what they’ve got in the time constraints,” he said.
Mann said his main goal is to focus on trying to identify the missing.
But while his heart goes out to the families of those missing, Mann is only human, just another person who is trying to help in the aftermath of such a tragic disaster. He explained that while he also wants instant results, the process of identifying the victims is a very long and difficult process.
“It’s a complex process, and the only thing we can do is give it the very best that we’ve got,” he said.
Mann said the most important thing for him is to make sure that everything he does, he does it correctly. He explained that if they go through the process quickly and try to cut corners, mistakes are made.
“The process is just going to take some time,” he said. “My heart goes out to everyone. I cannot imagine what they’re going through.”