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Oso Chaplain: 'They Want To Know They're Going To Be OK'

caption: Washington State Patrol chaplain Mike Neil, right, looks on with a colleague as workers using heavy equipment work to clear debris from the Oso mudslide.
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Washington State Patrol chaplain Mike Neil, right, looks on with a colleague as workers using heavy equipment work to clear debris from the Oso mudslide.
AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, Pool

Bill Radke talks with Washington State Patrol chaplain Mike Neil about his experiences helping people with the emotional toll of the Oso mudslide.

Neil is there to serve the search crews in the debris field, many of whom are the family and friends of victims. “Put yourself in that position of actually finding that person – that is a very traumatic thing and I’m not sure that they’re really prepared for what they might find,” Neil said.

He explained that he is able to connect with people because of his own personal tragedy. “When people are going through horrible times of grief, they want to know that the person that they’re talking to survived it,” he said. “They want to know that they’re going to be OK.”

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