A former Woodstock couple among the 13 killed in a Gatlinburg, Tenn wildfire.
They are the parents of Woodstock’s fire chief, Scott Tegler, and they have been identified as 71-year-old John Tegler and 70-year-old Marilyn Tegler.
Family members last heard from the couple on Monday through a text message. When they didn't hear from them again, the family filed a missing person's report on Wednesday, said the Tegler's son-in-law Dave Lapointe.
On Thursday evening, the Tegler family then heard from a detective that Jon and Marilyn were not able to escape the fire.
"They didn't make it out of the mountains," Lapointe said. "They were found close to the home. We lost two good people. They were very family oriented, all around nice people."
In addition to their Smoky Mountains vacation home, the Teglers, who had dual American and Canadian citizenship, also had a residence in Georgia as well, Lapointe said.
"They were going to go back to Georgia for a few weeks and return for Christmas up here," he said. "It's just a tragic end. They were together and they were in a place they liked to be."
According to officials on Friday, 85 have been treated from various injuries and many of them have been released from the hospital.
The resort city of Gatlinburg, Tenn., has been dealing with the wildfire since Monday. It is believed to have started due to human action at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park before spreading to the city itself.
Over 1,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed in Sevier County.
County mayor Larry Waters said during a media briefing Friday that officials hope to have Gatlinburg open to the public by Wednesday.
