Fifth person found dead after Alaska landslide as 12-year-old boy remains missing, authorities say
Otto Florschutz, 65, was “located and recovered from the landslide debris” by search and rescue teams on Wednesday. Twelve-year-old Derek Heller is the last person missing from the landslide.
Debris from the landslide in Wrangell, Alaska, is shown extending into the sea on November 22. (Alaska Department of Public Safety/AP)
(CNN) — Search crews in southern Alaska have located the remains of another person who went missing in a landslide late last month, the state’s Department of Public Safety said in a news release Friday.
Otto Florschutz, 65, was “located and recovered from the landslide debris” by search and rescue teams on Wednesday, the release says.
Twelve-year-old Derek Heller is the last person missing from the landslide that hit the Zimovia Highway in Wrangell, Alaska, killing five people and destroying three homes on November 20, the department said.
Four of Derek’s family members – 11-year-old Kara Heller, 16-year-old Mara Heller, 44-year-old Timothy Heller and 36-year-old Beth Heller – also died in the landslide.
Search teams located Kara’s remains on November 25, while Mara’s body was discovered during initial search and rescue efforts on November 20.
The bodies of Timothy Heller and Beth Heller were discovered the next day, according to Alaska’s Department of Public Safety.
A helicopter arrives as that scene as search and rescue dogs and their handlers stand by on November 22. (Willis Walunga/Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management/AP)
Alaska’s Department of Transportation said the landslide’s path grew to an estimated 450 feet wide and had a significant debris field.
The area where the landslide struck had been particularly wet the day before and the day of the natural disaster, with more than 3 inches of rain falling around Wrangell in the prior 24 hours, Andy Park, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Juneau, told CNN.
Park said winds of 61 to 87 mph the evening of November 20 may have been a factor in the landslides as well.
The region of southeast Alaska is already at risk for debris flows, according to Barrett Salisbury, a geologist with the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys. Heavy rainfall, rapid snowmelt or saturated soil only increase the risk, he said during a news conference.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued a disaster declaration in Wrangell on November 21 due to the landslide’s effects, his office posted on social media.
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