Pyle, his wife and the four grandchildren are now feared dead after a suspicious fire destroyed the mansion early Monday morning. Authorities have recovered four bodies from the ruins. They continue to search for the others.
The smiling grandchildren and their grandparents are seen in images released by family members, who described a boundless and unconditional bond between the victims.
• Lexi loved her sister and new baby brother, her classmates, field hockey, lacrosse and ice skating, the family said in a statement Friday.
“She was thoughtful, social, smart, and determined,” according to the family. “She loved her dog Sophie. Her favorite adventures included trips with her parents, grandparents, and cousins. Lexi wanted to be a vet or on television when she grew up. She was going to be famous.”
• Katie loved her family and her new brother, the statement said. She was described as a kind and compassionate girl who enjoyed soccer, gymnastics, ice skating and singing to Taylor Swift. Her recent adventures included her birthday party with the Baltimore Ravens cheerleaders and a trip to New York City.
“Having just turned 7, she was loving and thoughtful beyond her years,” the statement said.
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The Fire Department said crews had difficulty putting out the fire because the house is secluded, apparently with no fire hydrants on the scene.
Photos the Fire Department posted on Twitter showed hoses stretched for long distances. Davies said it took hours for department tanker trucks and a fire boat on an adjacent creek to bring the fire under control.
Pyle’s company biography described him as an industry veteran who held multiple CEO positions, with more than 25 years’ experience in information technology infrastructure software and hardware management.
Pyle told The Washington Post last year that after holding positions in a family business, he decided to look for an “industry that was in its infancy and something that would have growth potential.” He started in a sales position in a firm that connected computers over transmission lines, and later sold both hardware and software components for the Internet.
Pyle told the newspaper he eventually moved from sales to sales management to general management positions. In 1992, the company went public and was sold to Cisco Systems five years later for $4.2 billion, according to the Post.
CNN’s Ralph Ellis, Wes Bruer, Shimon Prokupecz and Lindy Royce contributed to this report.
