Slide

Summary: While they sleep in the basement, their house sitting at the base of a rain-soaked hillside on Bainbridge Island falls into Puget Sound

A family of four died when a mudslide pushed their waterfront house with a view of Seattle's skyline into Puget Sound early Sunday.

A local high school science teacher, his wife and their toddler and infant sons lived in the house in this island community of 18,000 west of Seattle, Bainbridge Island Fire Chief Kirk Stickels said.

Searchers aided by dogs, cameras and sonar worked frantically through the rainy, grey gray hours of the afternoon, hoping to find something before darkness fell.

They found four bodies in bedrooms in the daylight basement, which was buried under at least eight 8 feet of mud and debris, fire department spokesman Ken Guy said.

The bodies were identified by Kitsap County Coroner Ted Zink identified the bodies as Dwight Herren, 43; his wife Jennifer, in her 30s; and their sons, Skyler, 2, and Cooper, 3 months.

Autopsies have has been scheduled for Tuesday, Zink said.

Guy said: "This is a small and close-knit community. Everyone knows one another, and a tragedy like this affects everyone . . . family members, neighbors, even the firefighters." Guy said.

According to Larry Skinner, a Bainbridge Island building official, the Herrens had been remodeling the wood-frame house, adding a third floor.

The family apparently had been sleeping in the basement.

The mudslide, estimated at 2,000 cubic yards -- or about 150 dump-truck loads -- slammed into the back of the house around about 7:30 a.m.

"It basically knocked the house right off the foundation," Skinner said.

The top floor wound up on its side, submerged in at least five 5 feet of water, and while the second floor pancaked down onto the first floor, Stickels said.

The house was among 20 year-round and vacation homes on Rolling Bay Walk, that sit at the base of a hillside overlooking Puget Sound.

Three neighboring homes, two to the south and one to the north, were evacuated after the slide, Guy said. Many others were empty.

Melting snow from storms late last month and steady rain this week have saturated hillsides on the island. west of Seattle.

The same area was hit by mudslides last in May. A house 100 to 200 feet from the Herren home was destroyed.

Dennis Magnuson, pastor of Seabold United Methodist Church, was among a group of local ministers who said they would be available to help the community deal with the deaths.

"This is a terrible tragedy," Magnuson said. "We mostly just want to let people know that what they're feeling is normal." Magnuson said.