Alaska News

Second body recovered from area of Sitka landslide

Update, 1:35 p.m. Thursday: Searchers have recovered a second body from the site of a Sitka landslide, according to Jeremy Zidek, a spokesman for the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Authorities have not released the identity of the body, but it was found near the area of the house that was engulfed by the slide, where the first body was recovered Wednesday. A third person remains missing.

Zidek said a SEADOGS K-9 Search and Rescue Team out of Juneau were instrumental in locating the bodies, and that the dogs have caught a third scent. Crews are working their way to the area but moving slowly due to instability of the area.

Original story: SITKA -- Searchers recovered one body Wednesday at the site of a massive landslide, while two men remained missing and family and friends tried to keep hope alive.

The body was found around 7 p.m. near the area of a home that was engulfed by the slide, but has not yet been identified, said Jeremy Zidek, a spokesman for the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, late Wednesday night.

The three men who had been originally reported missing are Elmer Diaz, 26, and Ulises Diaz, 25, who had been painting a new home that was in the direct path of the slide, along with William Stortz, a city building inspector.

Sitka authorities helped the men's families visit the site where water-laden soil, trees and rocks engulfed one home Tuesday and continued to threaten others Wednesday, but had little good news for them.

After a meeting with volunteers in a nearby church, Sitka Police Department officer Gary Crawford was approached by tearful family members wanting to believe the men might still be alive.

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But there was little encouragement he could give them.

"I don't want you to lose hope, but I don't want to give you false hope either," Crawford said.

Two dog teams joined the search Wednesday but found it difficult to navigate through thick mud, huge trees and water.

Workers cleared 25 yards of the slide Wednesday, working from the less dangerous uphill side, but couldn't even provide an estimate of its total size.

The top of the slide on Harbor Mountain was shrouded in clouds much of the day, but search and rescue teams brought a geologist in on foot to examine the terrain and help judge continued risk.

On Wednesday morning, Gov. Bill Walker flew over the site in a Coast Guard helicopter and also did a ground visit.

Most work on the slide was scheduled to stop at 8 p.m. Wednesday to give the dog teams time to work without interruption.

Teams of sawyers and shovelers, with help from an army of local volunteers, have been slowly clearing the slide and doing the detailed work that heavy equipment can't do when the search might be for survivors or bodies.

Police said the removed material will be segregated so it can be researched if necessary.

On Wednesday, Dave Longtin, a senior engineer for the city, spoke about being at the slide Tuesday with Stortz, his friend and coworker.

It had been pouring rain and Stortz wanted to check out the new property's storm drains.

"He was a very smart man and he loved his job -- he loved going out and watching things in operation," Longtin said.

At first, everything looked good, despite the rain. "We were standing around admiring some of the work that had been done," Longtin said.

Then, they heard a sound something like a wind gust and saw trees on the steep hillside above them toppling.

"Right up until we heard the avalanche, we were actually enjoying ourselves," he said.

Stortz, Longtin and a third co-worker knew they had to run. Longtin said he saw the look of concern on Stortz's face, and all ran, but not necessarily all in the same direction.

Longtin said he ran uphill, trying to get out of the slide's path, but didn't have a lot of time to analyze options.

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"I was thinking about my wife and daughter and wanting to stay alive," he said.

At the time, Longtin didn't know that there were painters in the house and didn't know what became of Stortz. The area where they'd been standing was covered in debris.

Despite the slow progress in looking for the victims, workers made headway elsewhere Wednesday. A trench was cut to drain water from Sand Dollar Drive and Whale Watch Drive, reducing the threat and allowing some residents to return to their homes. About a dozen homes in the Kramer Avenue area remain evacuated.

The city of Sitka on Wednesday asked Gov. Walker for a disaster declaration, which now goes before the governor's Disaster Policy Cabinet to take action.

"He has asked that they meet as soon as possible to expedite the process," spokeswoman Katie Marquette said.

As Sitka firefighters were struggling with the emergency response effort Wednesday, they discovered that the destroyed house's municipal water line was continuing to add water to the scene. Much of the response so far has consisted of efforts to remove water from the scene to allow workers to search there.

The landslide blocked access to the water main's shutoff valve, but a trench was cut to drain the city water away from the site as well.

Rescuers hope to make more progress Thursday, since rain is predicted to return Friday or Saturday.

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