Lehi family remains hopeful crews will find uncle on Maui as number of missing reaches 1,100
Aug 24, 2023, 10:14 AM
LEHI, Utah — Maui police say they may be able to publish a full list of the nearly 1,100 people missing after the Lahaina wildfire in a few days. One of those people is the uncle of a Lehi family. It has been two weeks since the Ganer family has heard from their uncle. They remain hopeful but understand the reality of the situation.
“We’re still looking for him so we hope for the best, but we still don’t know,” Cody Ganer said. “It has been tough for (my family) to not get questions answered.”
Cody Ganer was born and raised in Lahaina, Hawaii. His family home is no longer standing and his parents and siblings are displaced.
“It feels like they are on their own trying to make ends meet,” he said.
Ganer and his wife, Amanda, said watching their family members go through this trail from thousands of miles away is devastating.
“Seeing videos from our friends and our family made it feel so much more real,” Amanda Ganer said. “Watching the house that we lived in, burn to the ground, where our son took a lot of his firsts…his first steps, has been heartbreaking.”
The couple is trying to get Cody’s parents to move to Utah, but they said leaving the island will be difficult.
Members of the Ganer family
“I know that it is a big grieving process and we can’t tell them what they need, but we’ve reminded them that they always have a home here,” Amanda said.
Ganer hopes the situation in Maui will improve but wants people to remember that it will take time to rebuild.
“I hope that it is not just a news story, that it’s not just the next couple of weeks and then everyone goes on and forgets about it because it’s going take a long time,” she said.
The couple is hosting a spam musubi fundraiser and selling them over Labor Day weekend. Pick-up will be on Saturday, Sept. 2 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1680 W. 700 South in Lehi. The $4 musubis are available for presale via Venmo* @AmandaGaner or @Cody-Ganer. All proceeds will be sent back to family and friends on Maui.
*KSL TV does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
