Buffalo police commissioner announces new anti-looting unit
Arrests have already been made as police crack down on looting in the wake of a deadly winter storm in Buffalo, New York. (Credit: Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown)
The National Guard is going door to door doing wellness checks across Erie County, New York, neighborhoods that lost power during the winter storm, County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz said during a Wednesday morning news conference.
The mission will take place over the next 48 hours, Poloncarz said alongside other county authorities. Authorities are fearful there are individuals that may have perished that have not been found yet.
There are less than 1,000 remaining power outages in the county. Those who have been without power for 72 hours or more can file a claim for utility reimbursement for spoiled food and prescriptions.
The latest death toll in the county stands at 34, with three people unidentified.
WINTER WEATHER 'GO BAG' COULD SAVE LIVES, SAY SAFETY PREPAREDNESS EXPERTS
National Guard members check on residents Wednesday in Buffalo, New York, following a winter storm. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
Angelo Milioto, 13, shovels snow away from around his home in Buffalo, New York, on Tuesday. (Joseph Cooke/The Buffalo News via AP)
"If you have a loved one that you know is missing, please contact your local police department," Poloncarz said of the two John Does and one Jane Doe.
The Buffalo Police Department launched an anti-looting unit that has already made eight arrests in the wake of a deadly winter storm that buried the city in snow over Christmas weekend.
BUFFALO POLICE LAUNCH ANTI-LOOTING UNIT AMID DEADLY WINTER STORM: 'YOU’RE DESTROYING YOUR COMMUNITY'
Fordham Avenue, center, and the 1901 Pan-American Exposition neighborhood of Buffalo, New York, is coated in a blanket of snow after the blizzard Tuesday. (Derek Gee /The Buffalo News via AP)
National guard members check on residents Wednesday in Buffalo, New York, following a winter storm. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
A National Guard truck drives past a police cruiser on a snowy street in Buffalo, New York, on Tuesday. (Joseph Cooke/The Buffalo News via AP)
More than five feet of snow fell on parts of Buffalo, burying homes, cars and stores throughout the city and the rest of Erie County.
A shoe hangs onto a tree knocked over by wind on University at Buffalo South's campus in Buffalo, New York, on Tuesday. (Joseph Cooke/The Buffalo News via AP)
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Temperatures are expected to rise through the end of the week, potentially causing minor flooding as snow melts, according to the National Weather Service.
Fox News' Paul Best contributed to this report.
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