Annapolis Mansion Fire - A 56-year-old man, his wife and four grandchildren are suspected dead after a terrible blaze razed their 16,000sq ft home in the early hours of Monday morning.
The couple Don Pyle and his wife Sandra, who neighbors have described as 'genuinely nice people,' were in their $6 million Annapolis mansion with their four grandchildren when the fire started.
At 3:30 am, an alarm monitoring service alerted authorities of the blaze. A team of over eight fire fighters responded and struggled to control the mansion fire which spread very quickly.
Tech mogul Mr Pyle, his wife and grandchildren are still unaccounted for, and authorities have refused to declare if they died in the blaze until their bodies have been discovered in the massive rubble, which may take days to go through.
However, a head teacher at a local school where the children attended confirmed the tragic death of the family in a letter to staff and students.
On Tuesday, Douglas Lagarde, head teacher of Seven School on Severna Park announced that as a result of the family's death in the fire, school would be closed to give way for mourning.
Although their ages were not disclosed, the names of the grandchildren ere given as Alexis Boone, Charlotte Boone, Kaitlyn Boone and Wes Boone.
"Tomorrow will be the first of many opportunities we, as a school, will provide for our kids to come together, and I emphasize, if they feel the need to," Lagarde's letter read.
However, Capt. Robert Howarth, commander of Anne Arundel County fire department and explosives unit said "we do not declare anyone deceased until we know for sure and have recovered evidence that a person is deceased."
"We still do not have 100 percent proof that they are in this house."
Authorities have since opened a criminal investigation into the fire, which they are suspicious of - especially due to how quickly the blaze spread in the six-acre mansion.
Arson has not being ruled out and federal investigators including specialists with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have already started their investigation.
The Annapolis mansion fire brought the building, which was named a 'castle' because of it stone structure, to the ground. A 5-storey crane has been brought to the house to help investigators sieve through the massive rubble. Excavation started on Wednesday morning.
Pyle and Sandy's children Randy and Stacey Boone live 15-minutes from the mansion and reports indicate that they are already mourning their deceased relatives.
