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Crosses honoring victims killed in a recent wildfire are posted along the Lahaina Bypass in Lahaina, Hawaii, Aug. 21, 2023. (AP)
More than 60 people missing after Maui fires, not 1,000 children
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- As of Sept. 9, 66 people were still unaccounted for after recent wildfires on Maui, Hawaii, according to authorities, including one known minor.
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More than a month after deadly wildfires ravaged the community of Lahaina on Maui, Hawaii, an Instagram post claims that hundreds of children are still unaccounted for.
"Over 1,000 missing children in Maui," reads the text in the Sept. 10 post.
This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
We asked the Maui Police Department about the claim but didn’t immediately hear back.
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But we found no credible evidence to support the claim in the post.
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The police department and the FBI have released a list of the names of 66 people who had been reported unaccounted for as of Sept. 9, two days before this Instagram post was made. A spokesperson for the Maui Joint Information Center told fact-checking site Lead Stories that number was current as of Sept. 11 but wouldn’t give the people’s ages.
However, the list denotes which people on it are "known to be a minor": one.
We rate this post False.
Our Sources
Instagram post, Sept. 10, 2023
Maui Police Department and FBI, Lahaina wildfires unaccounted for persons, Sept. 8, 2023
Maui wildfire disaster unaccounted for, updated Sept. 9, 2023
Lead Stories, Fact check: 2,000 kids NOT missing from Maui a month after 2023 wildfires — school enrollment data ≠ missing persons data, Sept. 11, 2023
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More by Ciara O'Rourke
More than 60 people missing after Maui fires, not 1,000 children
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