Katrina Death Toll Now at 1,281

By Associated Press

October 19, 2005, 1:34 PM EDT


BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. -- Four more bodies have been found in debris from Hurricane Katrina, pushing Mississippi's death toll to 228, a Gulf Coast coroner reported.

The number brings to 1,281 the deaths from Katrina reported by state and local officials in five states.

Harrison County Coroner Gary Hargrove, who is overseeing victim recovery in the Mississippi coastal counties devastated by the Aug. 29 hurricane, said Tuesday that search teams found one body Friday near the Jordan River in Hancock County.

A second body was found in Hancock County on Monday, he said, while the other two bodies were recovered Tuesday in Hancock County and in Biloxi in Harrison County.

Authorities have said that a number of the bodies recovered in the weeks after Katrina must still be identified.

The additional bodies bring to 1,281 the number of people lost to Katrina. Death tolls reported by state and local officials as of Wednesday in other states are: Louisiana, 1,035; Florida, 14; Alabama, 2; and Georgia, 2.

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