Weary mudslide rescuers battle rain, exhaustion

The death toll in a catastrophic mudslide remained at 17 today, even though at least nine additional bodies had been located, Officials said they were waiting for identification and preparing the public for a significant spike in reported fatalities.
Snohomish County District 21 Fire Chief Travis Hots said confirmation first must come from the medical examiner's office, which is going through the slow process of identifying the bodies, and new information will be released today.
"We understand there has been confusion over the reported number of fatalities," Hots said Thursday night in a statement. "This has been a challenging process for all of us."

He continued to insist the searchers might still find survivors, though that belief appeared to be waning.
"I want to brace everybody that the chance is very slim," Hots said. "But we haven't given up."
The possibility that dozens more people could be buried in the debris pile besides the 26 bodies already found has the potential to place Oso, with a total population of about 180, among the worst tragedies in Washington state history.

The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens killed 57 people, and a 1910 avalanche near Stevens Pass swept away two trains and killed 96.
"We do know this could end up being the largest mass loss of Washingtonians," Gov. Jay Inslee said yesterday. "We're looking for miracles to occur."

Besides the 90 missing, authorities are checking into 35 other people who may or may not have been in the area at the time of the slide. A group of people with the county emergency operations center is now making calls to eliminate that more-speculative list, said Marybeth O'Leary, a spokeswoman for the emergency operations center.
"They are names that are not complete names," she said. "They're things like, 'I work with a guy named Bill. He didn't show up to work today.