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Two bodies found in burned Annapolis mansion Two bodies found in burned Annapolis mansion
(about 2 hours later)
Crews found the remains of two bodies in the rubble of an Annapolis mansion that burned to the ground Monday morning, according to Anne Arundel County officials. Crews found the remains of two bodies in the rubble of an Annapolis mansion that burned to the ground Monday morning, but what caused the blaze at the home of a wealthy computer networking executive remains unexplained.
The grim discovery was made Wednesday, the first day investigators were able to safely enter the charred ruins in which six people were feared dead, officials said. The grim discovery was made Wednesday, the first day investigators could safely enter the charred ruins of the 16,000-square-foot home in which a total of six people — four of them elementary-aged children — are feared dead.
Four of the victims are still missing, said Anne Arundel County fire department spokesman Lt. Russell Davies Jr., at a Wednesday afternoon news conference, where he was flanked by the Anne Arundel County executive, fire chief, police chief, state’s attorney and officials from the ATF and state fire marshal’s office. Four are still missing, said Anne Arundel County fire department spokesman Lt. Russell Davies Jr. at a Wednesday news conference, where he was joined by the Anne Arundel County executive, fire chief, police chief, state’s attorney and officials from the ATF and state fire marshal’s office.
Investigators have been searching for the mansion’s owner Don Pyle, his wife, Sandy, and the couple’s four grandchildren. Davies declined to say whether the remains belonged to children or adults or where the bodies had been found. He said they did not yet have clues as to whether foul play was involved.
The headmaster of the Severn School, where the children were enrolled, already said in a letter to parents that the four children and their grandparents had died. Investigators have been searching for the mansion’s owners, Don Pyle, 56, the chief operating officer of Northern Virginia-based ScienceLogic, and his wife, Sandra, 63, and the couple’s four grandchildren — two sets of cousins who lived nearby.
Davies would not specify whether the remains found Wednesday were those of adults or children. He said the bodies were sent to the Maryland medical examiner’s office in Baltimore to be autopsied and identified. The headmaster of the Severn School, where the children were enrolled, said in a letter to parents Monday that the four children and their grandparents had died.
Davies said cadaver dogs were brought in for the search, and crews will continue to work despite the snowfall. The bodies were sent to the Maryland medical examiner’s office in Baltimore to be autopsied and identified, Davies said.
Cadaver dogs brought in for the search did not find the bodies, but did have “positive hits” around the scene, Davies said.
Crews will continue to sift through the wreckage, which still held hot spots more than 48 hours after 80 firefighters battled the four-alarm blaze.
“There is still a lot of work to be done,” Davies said. “This is a massive effort and will take days to complete.”“There is still a lot of work to be done,” Davies said. “This is a massive effort and will take days to complete.”
The cadaver dogs did not find the bodies but did have “positive hits” around the scene, Davies said. The fire was reported on the eight-acre property on Childs Point Road at 3:30 a.m. Monday.
Davies would not specify where in the mansion the bodies were found or how much progress crews have made since entering the home’s remains Wednesday. Authorities said earlier that they were conducting an “active criminal investigation,” although they did not have any reason to believe that the fire was suspicious. Davies repeated on Wednesday that it was too early to tell if foul play was involved.
The press conference took place at an Anne Arundel County fire station, about a 15-minute drive from the burned out home. The Pyles built the elaborate home, known in the neighborhood as the “castle,” in 2005. They loved to entertain there, hosting fundraisers and family parties. Many of the parties revolved around the Orioles and the Ravens.
Authorities said earlier that they were conducting an “active criminal investigation,” although they did not have any reason to believe that the fire was suspicious. Davies said Wednesday that they did not yet have any clues to whether or not foul play was involved. Pyle, who grew up north of Baltimore and played lacrosse at the University of Delaware, was an avid sports fan. In September 2013 when the Delaware football team traveled to Annapolis to play Navy, the Pyles hosted an event for alumni and school leaders, said Bob Shillinglaw, the long-time head lacrosse coach at Delaware.
There were no witnesses and no cause apparent. The 16,000-square-foot home, known in the neighborhood as “the castle,” apparently didn’t have a sprinkler system able to douse the blaze or give those inside time to flee. “Just an unbelievable, gorgeous house,” said Shillinglaw, who described the Pyles as “very friendly people. Very genuine.”
The four-alarm fire was reported on the eight-acre property on Childs Point Road at 3:30 a.m. Monday. The couple met when they both worked at Rixon in 1981, said Nick Whelan, who had an engineering job at the Silver Spring tech company. Sandy worked in marketing, and Don was in sales.
“This is five standard-sized houses put together,”Anne Arundel County fire department commander Robert Howarth said Tuesday. Due to the size of the site and the extent of the damage, a national response team from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives joined the response Tuesday. In an interview with the Post in October, Don described Rixon as “a company that connected computers over transmission lines and that company was the foundation of companies that started designing equipment to connect computers together.” His work there became the foundation of his fortune and the foundation of his family.
He and Sandy married about five years after they met, Whelan said, and Don became stepfather to Sandy’s two young sons, Clint and Randy Boone. Together, they had given the couple four grandchildren that they treasured.
Their friends were struggling Wednesday to absorb what had been lost in the fire.
“All of us are numb. It’s just hard to talk about,” Shillinglaw said. “For someone as wealthy as [Don] was, he’s the most down-to-earth person I ever met. He treated everyone like long-lost buddies, like great friends.”
john.cox@washpost.com
joe.heim@washpost.com
Julie Zauzmer contributed to this report.