Woman, daughters pulled from mudslide
Death toll 10; as many as 10 still missing in California disaster


LA CONCHITA, California (CNN) -- Rescuers early Wednesday pulled the bodies of a mother and her three daughters out from debris in La Conchita, California, bringing the number of people killed in Monday's mudslide to 10, officials said.

Mechelle Wallet, 37, and daughters Hannah, 10, Raven, 6, and Paloma, 2, were home when the mudslide hit, The Associated Press reported.

The father, Jimmie Wallet, had gone out to get ice cream, an official with the Ventura County Sheriff's Department said.

After the bodies were found, friends took him out of town with his 16-year-old daughter, according to AP.

"I'm very pleased with the hard work and all the effort in finding my family," Wallet said in a statement, AP reported.

Wallet had been among the most visible of the town's residents since the mudslide happened as he searched with firefighters for his family, AP reported.

As many as 10 people were still missing after the slide, which brought down tons of mud, sand and debris and covered or moved more than a dozen homes in the town north of Los Angeles.

Ventura County sheriff's deputies are expected to distribute a list of the missing to eliminate people who weren't in the area at the time of the disaster.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was touring the area Wednesday, both on the ground and by air.