Wrangell, Alaska –
Authorities recovered the body of an 11-year-old girl Saturday evening from the rubble of a landslide in southeastern Alaska that ripped through a forested mountainside and destroyed homes in a remote fishing village days earlier.
The girl, Kara Heller, was the fourth person confirmed to have died in the landslide last Monday night.
The girl’s parents, Timothy Heller, 44, and Beth Heller, 36, and her sister, Mara Heller, 16, were found and pronounced dead in the days following the landslide. Tim DeSpain, a spokesman for the Alaska Department of Public Safety, said search crews have located the Hellers’ third child, Derek, 12, and his neighbor Otto Florshutz, 65, missing. They say they are searching.
Mr. Florschutz’s wife survived the disaster.
The landslide hit three homes near Wrangell, a fishing village of about 2,000 people on an island about 155 miles (250 kilometers) south of Juneau.
DeSpain said the latest victim was found under debris in the slide area. Authorities used trained dogs and excavators to locate and recover the bodies.
Photos showed the aftermath of a landslide that occurred amid heavy rain and strong winds. It was a desolate dirt road, estimated to be 450 feet (135 meters) wide, that led from the top of a nearby mountain to the ocean in the midst of lush evergreens. . The debris field covered the coastal highway before reaching the ocean.
Officers initially said the scene was too unstable and dangerous to carry out a large-scale search and rescue operation. However, state Department of Transportation geologists have since cleared the area of debris for soil testing.
