Search crews recovered a body from the Kramer Avenue landslide in Sitka, at about 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday evening. The victim has not been identified.
Sitka Fire Chief Dave Miller reports that a team of cadaver dogs from Juneau led searchers to a sweatshirt on the west side of the slide, and subsequently to the body. Miller would not confirm the identity except to say, “It’s one of the boys.”
The found victim was located in the debris of the home that was destroyed by the landslide, according to an update sent by emergency services Thursday morning.
Elmer Diaz, 26, and his brother Ulises, 25, were working in one of the new homes under construction in the subdivision just off Kramer Avenue. The structure was completely obliterated by the landslide which struck Tuesday morning (8-18-15). The Diaz family has maintained a vigil at Sitka’s Grace Harbor Church since the event.
Still missing are the other Diaz brother, and William Stortz, 62, Sitka’s building official, who was inspecting drainage in the subdivision when the slide occurred.
Robert Woolsey is the news director at KCAW in Sitka.
