No evidence 500 children are 'still' missing in Maui following the wildfire

Context

There is no evidence that 500 children are missing or unaccounted for in Maui, Hawaii, following the devastating wildfire last year, despite what a recent viral post on X claims.

The post links the allegedly missing children to news that firefighter Shawn Rogers, the battalion chief in Maui, was charged with the alleged sexual abuse of a minor. 

The post reads, "Breaking: Maui fire chief arrested for child abuse as 500 children are still missing." And shares a news report from Hawaii News Now, which mentions Rogers' charge and details about the abuse. Towards the end of the video, a voiceover says, "So, the person most responsible for the deaths in Lahaina is in fact a mega P*dophile."

In fact

The Maui Police Department published the latest update to the "Credible List of Unaccounted For / Missing Individuals" in February 2024. The list only has the names of two individuals—neither marked as minors—who were still reported as unaccounted for following the wildfire in 2023. 

The names of these individuals also appear on previous versions of the list.

An earlier update published by the police in collaboration with the FBI on 8 September 2023 states that over 3200 people were reported as unaccounted for following the wildfire. However, the update mentions that the FBI had determined that most of those on the list were safe by the time of the published update.

The update makes no mention of how many of those 3200 were minors. However, there is no evidence or reports that 500 minors are still missing or unaccounted for.

Altered news clip

The news clip seen in the X post has also been digitally altered. A banner reading "Breaking News: Humanity Held Hostage By New World Order" has been added to the bottom of the clip. This banner does not appear in the original news video from Hawaii News Now. 

The New World Order is a common conspiracy theory trope that claims world events are orchestrated by a shadow government attempting to create a "New World Order" or one world government.

The video shared on X has added footage of the wildfire, which is attributed to Instagram and social media posts at the end of the video. The voiceover that repeats the claim has also been added. This additional footage and voiceover do not appear in the original news report. The original footage could not be found on the accounts shown.

Fire Department battalion chief arrested

Court records from Hawaii show that there is a case against Shawn Rogers for "continuous sexual assault of a minor" between 2019 and 2021. Rogers has pleaded not guilty to the charges. However, the case has not yet reached a verdict. 

The available court records do not mention Rogers as working for the Fire Department, but it is the only case against someone named Shawn Rogers in the area in 2024.

According to Hawaii News Now in both in video and article coverage of the case, Rogers worked for the Fire Department and was Battalion Chief in Maui.

There is no evidence that this case is connected to the Maui Wildfires or that Rogers is responsible for deaths in Lahaina. These claims are unsubstantiated.

The verdict

There is no evidence that 500 children are still missing in Maui following the wildfires. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.