JOPLIN, MISSOURI (BNO NEWS) -- The number of people who are still unaccounted for after a violent tornado ripped through the Missouri city of Joplin has dropped to 29, state officials said on Monday.

The powerful EF-5 tornado touched down on May 22 and tore through the city for several miles (kilometers), leaving a path of destruction about three quarters of a mile (1.2 kilometer) wide. Up to 30 percent of the city was estimated to have been destroyed.

As of Monday evening, the official death toll remains at 139 while nearly 1,000 others have been injured. "The number of unaccounted-for individuals has been reduced from 232 to 29 since the Department of Public Safety was directed by Governor Jay Nixon to take charge of locating all unaccounted-for individuals," said Department of Public Safety Deputy Director Andrea Spillars.

The department said that, of the 232 people who were on the initial list which was released on Thursday, 140 people have been located while 35 additional missing person reports have been filed. Four other persons have been confirmed to have been reported on the list twice or under different names.

"The 24-7 effort of working with local and federal partners, and the public, is responsible for this reduction since May 26, and our work will not cease until the number of unaccounted-for individuals is zero," Spillars added. "The department and its agencies - the Highway Patrol and [the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA)] - are committed to continuing to devote all available resources to this mission, which we consider our top priority."

Spillars said that those involved in the effort to account for all individuals are encouraged by the fact that 140 persons who were once unaccounted-for have now been reported to be located. While 29 people are officially unaccounted for, the department said that the families of three people on the list have reported them as deceased. The official identification process for them has not yet been completed, however.

As of Monday, the next-of-kin of 101 of the 139 victims have been notified. The youngest victim has been identified as 1-year-old Hayze Howard of Webb City, while the eldest victim was identified as 94-year-old Nancy E. Douthitt of Joplin.

The tornado disaster in Joplin, which President Barack Obama on Sunday described as a national tragedy, is the deadliest single tornado in the United States since modern record-keeping began in 1950.

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