Authorities today released the names of five victims of last weekend’s deadly mudslide in Oso, Washington. Seventeen people are dead, but many more are missing.
The Snohomish County Medical Examiner confirmed the names of five victims on Friday morning. The youngest is five-year-old Kaylee Spillers. Stephen Neal of Darrington and Christina Jefferds, William Welsh and Linda McPherson of Arlington are also dead.
Crews remain on the site of the slide as the wait for news of potentially more victims continues:
Steve Mason, a battalion fire chief with the county, says crews have altered their search tactics. Starting today, they’ve began much more thorough searches instead of just sweeping through buried homes.
“As we move through this process, we want to be more and more -- I want to say -- methodical, so instead of going to the obvious places.”
Off-and-on rain slowed down rescue efforts. But Mason says he has more than enough help from volunteers on the site
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