On Saturday Search and rescue teams in Wrangell discovered an unidentified fourth person from the rubble of the landslide that killed four people last week. Two missing persons remain: Derek Heller, 12 and his neighbour Otto Florschutz, 65.
The wife of Florschutz, Christina Florschutz, survived the slide and is now recovering at the local hospital in Wrangell. Christina Florschutz said she had taken a shower upstairs at the home they shared when the slide hit.
“And I heard this horrendous noise that was very loud and I recognized itI’ve heard tornadoes before and mudslides previously,” she said, speaking from her hospital bed on Thursday. “I was aware of the situation was afoot however I didn’t have any prior warning. I heard the sound. Then, I’m the weightless pieces of popcorn that’s tossed everywhere hitting things as well as everything.”
After she had a take a break, Florschutz found herself under the roof of the house and was able to see trees. She was chilled and was suffering from leg cramps however, when she stepped into a plastic bag, she was able to see the contents: bits of polar fleece that she taken from thrift stores to use to make sewing projects.
“Right there and then I knew it was my destiny to be alive,” she said. “I was meant to live, I was designed to live. God gave me this for me in order that I wouldn’t suffer from hypothermia.”
Florschutz reported that she was able use the polar fleece to shield herself from rain. She also said that her thoughts about the children in third grade who she is working with as an aide to the teacher made her more resilient.
Then, she heard the sound of a thud in the ceiling.
“I’m shouting”Hey, I’m here,’?” she said. “And bump-bump. bump-bump. and then I realize”Oh, it’s my dog that’s up there, waving the fur.'”
She spoke to it for quite a few minutes and instructed that it should bark when anyone came near at night, but by the next morning, the dog had gone.
In the end, Florschutz was able to get free from the house’s debris. She claimed she made use of pieces of the debris as a way to get across the mud before rescuers noticed her.
“They took me to a location in which I could walk small distance, then they put me inside this warm, cozy vehicle,” she said. “That’s what I was like.”
Once she has healed from her injuries Florschutz stated that she cannot be patient to go back with her class.
Check out the complete 45-minute conversation by Christina Florschutz below:
