A family of six remains missing after their multimillion-dollar Maryland mansion was set ablaze early Monday morning, fire officials told CBS News.
It took more than 80 firefighters from multiple departments several hours to subdue the fire, which left the 16,000-sqare-foot Annapolis mansion completely gutted and reduced to its framework. Water had to be transported to the home in tankers because there was no fire hydrant in the area, Capt. Russ Davies, spokesman for the Anne Arundel County Fire Department, told CBS.
According to the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation, the seven-bedroom house belongs to Don Pyle, CEO of Virginia-based ScienceLogic, and his wife Sandra. As of Monday evening the family's whereabouts is unknown.
"From the family, we know who's unaccounted for," Davies told CBS. "If you look at the damage, you know, it would not be a stretch to think that if there were occupants that they did not survive."
Davies said there is a possibility the family went out of town. Firefighters cannot yet search the massive property because the flames destroyed the two-story mansion's roof and floors.
An alarm-monitoring company reported the fire at around 3:30 a.m.
"We saw a reflection on our bedroom ceiling and it was too early for sunrise," Manfred Leckszas, who also reported the blaze, told the station.
"There were two bangs - two thuds - and flames shot way up high in the sky, above the treeline and I thought, 'Oh my God,' " Azalea Leckszas also told the station.
The cause of the fire is not yet known, but foul play does not appear to be involved, David Cheplak, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told CBS.
The Davies' home, which had at least seven bathrooms, was built in 2005 at a value of $4.2 million.
A spokesman for ScienceLogic confirmed to the station there was a fire at the CEO's home but did not offer further comment as the case is still being investigated.
