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JEFFERSON CITY, MO. -- Update: Friday, May 27 at 3:54 p.m.:

156 people remain unaccounted for in the Joplin tornado zone.

That’s according to Governor Jay Nixon.

Nixon told reporters the process of identifying the dead and locating survivors has been a difficult job.

Nixon said authorities will not stop until the number of unaccounted for Joplin tornado victims is zero.  The latest number is 156 missing.  That’s down from Thursday’s number of 232.

Nixon said, “There’s a profound sadness to be the governor of a state in which thousands of people are not homeless, but they don’t have homes.  The homes are gone.  We have hundreds of people injured and well into the hundred plus of deceased.”

Nixon signed a proclamation making Sunday a State Day of Prayer and Remembrance for the Joplin tornado victims.  Nixon and President Obama will speak at a Sunday service in Joplin. That service will take place at 2 p.m. at the Taylor Performing Arts Center at Missouri Southern State University.

Nixon said, “We hope that at each one of the church services across the State of Missouri this week that folks pause and take a moment to say a prayer of remembrance for the hundreds of dead, hundreds and hundreds of injured and thousands of people’s homes that don’t exist.”

Nixon said he’s totally committed to the rebirth of Joplin.  The Governor said we’ll be there as long as it takes and he’ll make sure the resources are available to get the job done.  Nixon promised Joplin will rise again.

Most of the bodies of the Joplin tornado victims have not been released for burial because authorities have identified them with fingerprinting and DNA testing instead of visual confirmation by family members.

Original Story:

Governor Nixon’s updated members of the media this morning on the devastation from the Joplin tornado.

As of 10 a.m., 156 people remain unaccounted for in the Joplin tornado zone.

Nixon says authorities will not stop until that number is zero. Nixon signed a proclamation this morning making Sunday a state day of prayer and remembrance for the Joplin tornado victims.

Governor Nixon and president Obama will speak at a Sunday service in Joplin. That service will take place at 2 p.m. at the Taylor Performing Arts Center at Missouri Southern State University.

Nixon promised Joplin will rise again.