Authorities: Exact number of those still missing from deadly Washington state mudslide unknown

Stillaguamish River (North Fork), site of the Skaglund Hill mudslide; the unstable area is covered with red alder, bigleaf maple and black cottonwood (light green) forest (right of center and below river). The mudslide flowed to the upper left, across the river. Most, if not all, of the houses visible in the image were destroyed. (Wikipedia photo)

OSO, Wash. – Authorities say they still don’t know how many people remain missing from a deadly Washington state mudslide.

Snohomish County Emergency Management Director John Pennington said late Monday that officials were working off a potential list of 176 people, but he stressed that authorities believed that included many duplicate names.

At least 14 people have died. Officials say they are still culling through multiple reports of people who may have lived or worked in the area.

The slide smashed through a small community about 55 miles north of Seattle on Saturday morning.