Chapter 5
"I have something over here." The head of the rescue squad was poking through the snow that had slid into the house. "I need some help over here."
As several men started digging, they found two bodies, an adult woman and a teen-age girl, buried about halfway down in the snowpack.
As they were pulled out, hands quickly went to find a pulse. There was one on each of the victims.
Both were immediately strapped into stretchers and taken back down the valley to waiting ambulances.
Quickly, two younger women were found and pulled from the snow, unconscious but alive. They too were transported to waiting ambulances via the snowmobiles.
The police knew that there were seven women at the chalet, five family members, and two Secret Service Agents. Four women had been found. But no one yet had spotted the First Lady.
Critical moments passed.
By this time, the location had been inundated with help from many rescue organizations and local authorities.
Twenty minutes into the rescue, two more bodies were located in the demolished side of the house. But it was too late for them. Their bodies were removed and covered for later transport.
The First Lady was still missing.