2 more bodies found in ruins of Maryland mansion
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Two more bodies were discovered Thursday in the rubble of a $6 million waterfront mansion destroyed in a fire earlier this week.
Investigators won't say whether the remains are children or adults. They found two bodies Wednesday during their first day of excavating the site, and two more people remain missing.
The search will continue Friday.
The bodies were taken to Maryland's Office of the State Medical Examiner in Baltimore for identification, according to Anne Arundel County fire officials.
Six people — tech executive Don Pyle; his wife, Sandra; and their four grandchildren — have been unaccounted for since a massive blaze reduced a 16,000-square-foot waterfront mansion built in 2005 to smoldering ruins early Monday. The Pyles and their grandchildren — Alexis "Lexi" Boone, 8; Charlotte Boone, 8; Kaitlyn "Katie" Boone, 7; and Wesley Boone, 6 — all were inside when the fire was reported around 3:30 a.m. ET, according to a statement from surviving family members.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has deployed a team that includes heavy equipment needed to removed the heavy stonework and steel beams that collapsed during the fire into the home's basement. So far agents have said they see no signs that someone set the fire.
Don Pyle was named chief operating officer at ScienceLogic, based in the Washington suburb of Reston, Va., in the fall. Officials at the company, which makes software for cloud computing, have said they have not heard from him since the fire.
The Pyles took their grandchildren out to a Medieval Times restaurant for a special family dinner the night of the fire, stopping at a Target to buy costumes to make the evening more festive, family spokeswoman Toni Aluisi said. The children and their grandparents then returned to the Pyles' seven-bedroom, 7½-bathroom house, nicknamed "The Castle" because of its miniature turrets and stonework, for a sleepover.
Lexi Boone was looking forward to her first Communion, Aluisi said.
"On behalf of the Boone and Pyle families, we wish to express our gratitude and appreciation for the love and support being shared with us during this tragic event," according to a statement from relatives. "Our loss demands time and quiet reflection to process these feelings. ... Life is fragile. Make time today to embrace your loved ones."