I say if we got a cot and air conditioning, go for it. But that's me. If I had my way we'd be able to do them in a week. |
I think it's important for everybody to understand that it's about the individual, ... It's about the little lady with the big brown eyes who is in the Superdome in all that filth who looks at you and you can't do anything for. And somebody hands you a limp kid. And when you come back to her, she's dead. |
I wish I could speed up the process, ... But speeding up the process could contaminate the process, and I just can't do that. And I'm sorry we have to do that in some situations to make sure the entire process is as pure as it can be. I have to be able to stand up before somebody and say I am absolutely sure. |
I won't see light at the end of the tunnel until I see the families for these people found, ... And we're not even close to seeing that. |
I wouldn't be surprised if I'm here six months from now. |
I'm assuming we'll find some up in the backwoods, pretty far from where they belong, |
I'm told 400 to 500 people have come in and given DNA samples, but we've had no way of matching them, |
If you were ill before the storm and you were on a respirator and the power was knocked out then I count that as a storm-related death, |
It's about the individual. It's about the one. And I don't want people to lose track of that. We handle every person as the individual and with the dignity they deserve. |
It's not about numbers. I don't know how high that's going to go, ... Each death is enough. This is horrific. |
My heart goes out to the folks here locally, |
The collection (of bodies) has been slow because the whole focus has been on saving the living, ... I'm sorry that families have had their loved ones out there. But if there is a choice between searching for a dead body and a 6-year-old child with hypothermia, there is no choice. |
There are lost people out there that will never be accounted for, ... But we can determine if they're here or not. |
These are horrible times, |
These are horrible times, and it's extremely frustrating. I wish I could speed up the process, but speeding up the process could contaminate the process. I'm sorry about that. |