Medical examiner: All victims of mudslide found so far have been identified

EVERETT, Wash., April 11 (UPI) -- All 36 victims of the Washington State mudslide whose bodies have been found have been positively identified, officials said Friday.

The Snohomish County Medical Examiner said the confirmed death toll remained at 36. Three victims were identified Thursday and one Friday.

The victims include Denver Harris, 14, Mark Gustafson, 55, Bonnie Gullikson, 91, and Michael Pearson, 74.

A mile-square area in rural Oso on the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River was buried when a hillside collapsed March 22. Many of those killed were in their homes when a wall of mud destroyed them.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is building a berm to allow part of the site to be drained, allowing a better search for the dead. But officials have said some victims may never be found.

While early reports said more than 160 people were unaccounted for, officials now believe the death toll will be no more than 50. That would make the mudslide the third deadliest natural disaster in Washington history after the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens and a 1910 avalanche in Stevens Pass that buried two passenger trains.

[Snohomish County Medical Examiner]