LAHAINA, Hawaii — Where is Rex Cole?
The question haunts residents and homeless-service providers who came to know the kind, white-bearded man before wildfire barreled through Lahaina, killing or displacing hundreds of people, including those who had been homeless before fire destroyed scores of houses.
They wonder what became of Cole, one of the most recognizable faces in the historic district, who smiled at just about everyone who walked by.
The full scale of the fire’s impact on Lahaina’s unhoused community has not fully emerged, but many worry the town’s most vulnerable residents are among those hardest hit by the devastation: Unseen in life, they are now invisible in death.
“Sometimes they don’t have the emotional or mental ability to advocate for themselves,” said Lisa Darcy, founder of Share Your Mana, a Maui-based homeless advocacy group. “It’s beyond a crisis.”
Darcy is among those who encountered Cole on the streets of Lahaina over the years. Another is Jelena Dackovic, former director of the Maui Rescue Alliance, who said Cole loved to sit under the plumeria tree near the wharf and comment on Vans shoes worn by passersby.
“I think it reminded him of living in California,” Dackovic said.
“You always have one of those who is your favorite person and that’s what he is to me,” she added. “When you met him, you want to hug him. He was loved by many.”
People who knew Cole switch between present and past tense when referring to him. He has not been seen or heard from since wildfire leveled what was once the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii, leaving behind little but toxic ash, soot and destruction.
At least 114 people have been confirmed dead, and officials say an estimated 1,000 more could still be unaccounted for, making the complicated process of locating and identifying deceased victims even more difficult.
Finding missing or dead homeless residents is especially tricky because they do not always carry cellphones or have a dedicated group of people checking in on them.
According to the 2023 federal point-in-time count, a total of 6,223 people experienced homelessness in the state of Hawaii. The majority, 4,028, were on Oahu, and 704 lived on Maui.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
