Current:Home > Contact4th victim in Alaska landslide is 11-year-old girl; 2 people still missing, officials say -GrowthSphere Strategies
4th victim in Alaska landslide is 11-year-old girl; 2 people still missing, officials say
View
Date:2025-04-15 03:07:39
Authorities recovered the body of 11-year-old Kara Heller Saturday night from debris left behind by a massive landslide in southeast Alaska that killed three other people and left two others missing, according to the Associated Press.
Heller is the fourth person confirmed killed by last Monday's landslide. The others were the girl's parents, Timothy Heller, 44, and Beth Heller, 36, and her sister Mara Heller, 16.
Rescue crews found Mara's body in the initial search, and the bodies of Timothy and Beth were found late Tuesday by a drone operator.
Search crews are looking for a third child still missing from the Heller family, Derek, 12, and neighbor Otto Florschutz, 65, the Alaska Department of Public Safety told the Associated Press.
Alaska State Troopers said in a statement last Tuesday that three homes were in the direct path of the disaster around 8:50 p.m. local time Monday near Wrangell, a fishing community with just over 2,000 residents about 155 miles southeast of Juneau.
Alaska landslide:Landslide leaves 3 dead and trail of damage in remote community of Wrangell, Alaska
Alaska landslide: search and rescue efforts
First responders were on the scenes searching for survivors, the troopers said. Authorities urged residents to contact local police if they know someone who is missing.
The landslide cut off access and power to about 75 homes, the state emergency management office said, and boats have been taking residents from the cut-off area to an unaffected part of town.
Photos posted on social media showed barren earth near the top of the mountain all the way down to the Pacific Ocean and remnants of destroyed homes.
Aaron Jacobs, a hydrologist and meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Juneau, told the Associated Press Wrangell received nearly 2 inches of rain from 1 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday and wind gusts of up to 60 mph in higher elevations.
The storm was part of a system that moved through southeast Alaska and brought heavy snow to Haines and blizzard-like conditions to Juneau, Jacobs said. Areas farther south had minor flooding.
Landslides were reported near Ketchikan and on Prince of Wales Island. KTUU, a local TV station in Alaska, reported several landslides happening across the state that damaged homes, caused power outages and closed major highways.
Search suspended:5-year-old girl dies, search suspended for man swept out by California wave: Coast Guard
veryGood! (94)
Related
- NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
- The NFL draft happening in Detroit is an important moment in league history. Here's why.
- Pennsylvania redesigned its mail-in ballot envelopes amid litigation. Some voters still tripped up
- Veteran DEA agent sentenced to 4 years for leaking intelligence in Miami bribery conspiracy
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- FTC bans noncompete agreements, making it easier for workers to quit. Here's what to know.
- How Trump's immunity case got to the Supreme Court: A full timeline
- Ex-Connecticut city official is sentenced to 10 days behind bars for storming US Capitol
- The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
- 74-year-old Ohio woman charged with bank robbery was victim of a scam, family says
Ranking
- Mets have visions of grandeur, and a dynasty, with Juan Soto as major catalyst
- NBA investigating Game 2 altercation between Nuggets star Nikola Jokic's brother and a fan
- Family of man killed when Chicago police fired 96 times during traffic stop file wrongful death suit
- Suspect in break-in at Los Angeles mayor’s official residence charged with burglary, vandalism
- Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
- Biden administration expands overtime pay to cover 4.3 million more workers. Here's who qualifies.
- Former Wisconsin college chancellor fired over porn career is fighting to keep his faculty post
- A look at the Gaza war protests that have emerged on US college campuses
Recommendation
Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
Tennessee lawmakers pass bill to allow armed teachers, a year after deadly Nashville shooting
Trump to receive 36 million additional shares of Truth Social parent company, worth $1.17 billion
Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to let Arizona doctors provide abortions in California
Friday the 13th luck? 13 past Mega Millions jackpot wins in December. See top 10 lottery prizes
I’m watching the Knicks’ playoff run from prison
Ancestry website to catalogue names of Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II
Call Her Daddy Host Alex Cooper Marries Matt Kaplan in Intimate Beachside Wedding