Unicoi County families still searching for missing loved ones

UNICOI COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) – Families in Unicoi County are desperate for the safe return of missing loved ones.

Over 25 agencies are working with the incident command set up at Unicoi County Middle School to help clean up debris and locate people still missing. At a media briefing Sunday morning, officials revealed 73 people are still unaccounted for.

EMA Director Jim Erwin said recovery has been a challenging effort considering the extent of damage.

“We’ve probably got over 100 people at this time in the I-26, Industrial Park [areas] are conducting searches, but there are such large debris piles that it will be very tedious and we have to be very careful during our procedure,” said Erwin.

The Industrial Park area of the county remains a high priority, according to Erwin. Families of workers who reportedly went missing from the Impact Plastics facility the day of the storms came to Sunday morning’s briefing, making a desperate plea for their return.

The families of Lydia Verdugo, Monica Hernandez, Rosa Andrade, and Bertha Mendoza were outside the high school holding signs, hoping someone would recognize them and say they were okay.

News Channel 11 has attempted to make contact with Impact Plastics for comment on the missing employees and will continue to do so.

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