Update, Nov. 26, 2023:
- 65-year-old Otto Florschutz
- 12-year-old Derek Heller
Original story:
The state Department of Public Safety has released the names of those killed in Monday night’s landslide near Wrangell.
The body of 16-year-old Mara Heller was recovered that night. Her parents, 44-year-old Timothy Heller and 36-year-old Beth Heller, were recovered Tuesday.
Three Wrangell residents remain missing, including two more Heller siblings: 12-year-old Derek Heller and 11-year-old Kara Heller.
Otto Florschutz, 65, is also missing. Florschutz’s wife Christina Florschutz survived the slide and is recovering at the local hospital.
Next of kin have been notified.
Workers with the state Department of Transportation started to clear the landslide debris 11 miles south of town on Thursday. The slide, which is about 450 feet wide, came down across Zimovia Highway before it reached the water, destroying three homes and leaving about 75 without power. Many of the affected homes also lack phone and internet service.
DOT Spokesperson Shannon McCarthy says crews are removing debris from both sides of the slide.
“We’re working to restore the roadway,” she said. “That will allow people on the south side to get power again, and then also allow them to have emergency access.”
Search efforts have been ongoing since Monday night, with drones, helicopters, planes, K-9 teams and sonar.
State officials announced yesterday that teams have searched every place they can without the use of heavy machinery. The strategy is now moving from “an active search to a reactive one.”
“We have to move pretty deliberately because it is still a search and rescue situation,” McCarthy said. “We have a search dog team with their handler standing by so that we can stop should we, you know, need to resume rescue activities.”
McCarthy says the state is collaborating with local contractors to remove mud and downed trees from the roadway with heavy equipment. She says it’s a matter of days – not weeks – before they get a single lane of access across. And if they find evidence that anyone missing is in a specific area, an active search may be restarted.
