Loved ones of missing hope for good news, but don’t expect it
The search for the missing at a burned-out warehouse in Oakland grew only more somber Monday, as hope for survivors dimmed and the families and friends of those unaccounted for endured an agonizing wait.
Daniel Vega was among those at an Alameda County sheriff’s substation near the scene of Friday night’s fire at an electronic music show, hoping for news about his 22-year-old brother, Alex Vega.
UC Berkeley Professor Luba Golburt also wasn’t optimistic about her former student Griffin Madden, who graduated last year after taking her 19th century Russian literature class and her seminar on Ukranian writer Nikolai Gogol.
“But I am checking the news incessantly,” said Golburt, an associate professor in Slavic languages and literatures.
The county coroner’s office confirmed at least 36 dead in the fire.
While the names of the missing have not been released publicly, many relatives and friends have spoken openly, recalling people whose absence will diminish their lives.
Grief counselors, chaplains and American Red Cross officials are on hand.