Many still missing 18 days after fires

Eighteen days after the Black Saturday bushfires claimed at least 210 lives,
Victorian police are uncertain how many people remain missing.
Many names are still unaccounted for, Victoria Police Superintendent Rod Collins said.
"In amongst that number there will be people that have left for reasons, or have
been reported as missing, that may not have even been in that fire area," Supt
Collins said on Wednesday.
"We also have ... several people (who) will be in the database under different names."
He said the process of identifying bodies found in the fire area was a lengthy one
but progress was being made.
"My understanding from the last briefing is that it's getting to a smaller,
manageable number," he said.
"We're getting to a stage where hopefully we're able to work out there might be a
few unaccountable for.
"They might be unaccountable for a number of reasons - they may have left and not
told family where they had gone."
He said it would be another month or so before authorities released a list of those
people still being sought.
Families who have not heard from loved ones since the February 7 fires have been
urged to contact the police disaster victim identification team and file a report.
"Given the number of people listed, it is taking police some time to establish who
remains unaccounted for," Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said.
"As a result, we are yet to definitively determine how many people are still missing."
He said more than 6,500 people originally listed as missing had been found safe
after registering with the Red Cross.
"Whilst we hold grave concerns for those who have not been heard of since the fires,
it may be that they have just not registered with the Red Cross," Mr Walshe said.
"I would urge anyone who has not been in contact with the Red Cross to do so
immediately."