Search for missing 12-year-old boy after Wrangell landslide called off by authorities

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Wrangell officials have announced that the search for a 12-year-old boy who has been missing for over two weeks following a devastating landslide has been suspended. The massive landslide destroyed three homes in the community, resulting in the tragic deaths of five residents.

Derek Heller is the only person who remains missing after the Nov. 20 landslide, which also saw the miraculous survival of Christina Florschutz, a teacher’s aide who managed to extract herself from the wreckage of her home. The landslide, which was 450 feet wide, uprooted trees and caused significant damage at Mile 11 of the Zimovia Highway.

Tragically, the bodies of four members of the Heller family – parents Timothy Heller and Beth Heller, along with their children Mara Heller and Kara Heller – were discovered in the aftermath of the landslide. Additionally, the body of 65-year-old Otto Florschutz, who lived in a neighboring home with his wife, was also recovered. State transportation crews have cleared enough debris to temporarily open the highway for residents, allowing for search and rescue crews to access previously unreachable areas.

Despite the dedicated search efforts over the past few weeks, Derek Heller has not been located. The City and Borough of Wrangell has announced that they are suspending search efforts but will have search and rescue teams and a scent detection K9 team ready to respond if new information or evidence leads to a specific search area in the future.

Updates from the city on social media have detailed the extensive destruction caused by the landslide. The complexity of the massive amounts of debris in the intertidal zone has made the search for Derek Heller incredibly challenging, leading officials to come to the difficult decision to suspend search efforts.

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