Missing woman found weeks after the Maui wildfires

LAHAINA, Hawa. (CNN, KYMA/KECY) - Hundreds are still missing in Lahaina, Hawaii after a devastating wildfire. As cell service improved and access was allowed, some families have reunited.

"We're all just extremely worried about her," said Melinda Young, a Maui resident.

Young said last week, she was at the Family Assistance Center to report her friend and coworker Mona Cole missing. Cole lives at Hoonanea, in Lahaina, a condo that was partially burned.

Her brothers who live on the East Coast watched aerial footage to find Cole's building, which was still standing, so they started calling shelters.

"I filled out a police report or a missing persons report on my sister, so we were able to get her officially on the list. My other daughter, Megan, who works at the Maui hospital, had actually put herself down as the next of kin for my sister's address, hoping that when roads were open that she would be able to access the site," said Gary Franklin, Cole's brother.

Emotional reunion

After residents were allowed in, Franklin's daughter went straight to the condo.

"There was a group of people standing outside one of the undestroyed buildings and she asked if anybody there knew Mona Cole and a woman turned around and said, 'Yes, I do,' and my daughter was so anxious, she did not recognize that it was my sister that turned around," Franklin explained.

Franklin says an emotional reunion followed. Cole had evacuated to the Hyatt Regency Kaanapali after a firefighter told her to leave the condo. Franklin, a volunteer firefighter in New Jersey, is grateful she heeded the warning.

"I've been in some forest fires and with some high moving winds and I can tell you it's, I was concerned for my sister. I really was concerned for her," Franklin expressed.

Because cell service was down for days and is still spotty, he's only able to briefly talk to his sister as she's now involved in community efforts.