The Anne Arundel County Fire Department has located two more bodies Thursday in the area of the Annapolis mansion that burned down earlier this week. It brings the total to four bodies found with two people still unaccounted for.
The bodies have been taken by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and have been transported to Baltimore for an autopsy and identification.
Fire officials say their search will resume on Friday.
Investigators have been using K-9 units to help search through the rubble and to pinpoint a cause of Monday's fire.
Kevin Sasada drove all the way from Ocean City to be here near the home of his friends, Sandy and Don Pyle.
"I just had to," he said. "It's been tough not knowing the 100 percent, the closure, so I had to bring them flowers and a Ravens helmet. We always went to Ravens games too."
Sasada said the Pyles had a condo near him in Ocean City. He had met their grandchildren.
"They were just kids full of life," said Sasada.
Four of the grandchildren: Lexi, 8, Katie, 7, Charlotte, 8, and Wes, 6, were spending the night at their grandparents' 16,000-square-foot home on the water in Anne Arundel County when the fire started.
Relatives released a statement on Thursday saying: "Our love for our family is boundless. Our loss demands time and quiet reflection to process these feelings. We ask that you respect our need for privacy.
"Life is fragile. Make time today to embrace your loved ones."
Back at the home, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' National Response Team is working with the Anne Arundel County Fire Department.
"Fire protection engineers are looking to see the different burn patterns, to see where things have burned more heavily than others," said David Cheplak of the ATF. "It's giving them a good indication of where the fire may have started, and ultimately the goal is to determine the point of origin and the cause of it."
Michael Bouchard retired as assistant director of field operations for the ATF. He is not surprised by how much of the house was destroyed.
"With new construction, a lot of them are green-friendly," he said. "They are airtight. The fire could have burned for a long time inside of a place like this before it vented and started to draw oxygen. Once that happens, the whole building is already consumed with hot gases and smoke. As soon as it finds oxygen, the whole building is going to be consumed."
We also asked Bouchard if he was surprised that none of the six people in the home got out.
"I am surprised," he told us. "Obviously, there are smoke detectors in all modern construction. Typically, someone will hear a smoke detector when it goes off. Some people are sound sleepers. Some people wake up after there is so much smoke that they are overcome. They can't get out. All those kinds of things are scenarios that investigators will look at."
The Anne Arundel County Fire Department says even though it was a massive home, it did not have a sprinkler system. The home was built in 2005, four years before sprinklers were added to the county fire code for single-family homes.
Fire officials say the home did have working smoke alarms and firefighters were notified by the alarm company. But the home was already engulfed when they got there.
The size of the house means there is more to sift through. This work will take several days.
Bouchard told us even in a house with this much damage, investigators can figure out which doors were open and which were closed. It is all part of a puzzle they are trying to solve.
He says people should remember there is always a possibility the cause can never be found.
READ THE ENTIRE STATEMENT:
Media Statement Attributed to the Boone and Pyle Families on January 19th Childs Point Road Home Fire
"On behalf of the Boone and Pyle families, we wish to express our gratitude and appreciation for the love and support being shared with us during this tragic event. We are blessed that so many family, friends, and neighbors have come together for us in our time of need.
We recognize the dedicated efforts from Anne Arundel County Fire and Police Departments, the Naval Academy, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and other first responders. We want our community to know how proud we are of all who have helped us.
Our love for our family is boundless. Our loss demands time and quiet reflection to process these feelings. We ask that you respect our need for privacy.
Life is fragile. Make time today to embrace your loved ones."
Family Information
Randy and Stacey Boone, parents of Alexis (Lexi) Boone, 8 and Kaitlyn (Katie) Boone, 7
Clint and Eve Boone, parents of Charlotte Boone, 8 and Wesley (Wes) Boone, 6
Randy and Clint Boone are sons of Sandra (Sandy) Pyle and stepsons of Don Pyle.