The House of Contentment has vanished, and its elderly owners were confirmed Wednesday to be among the 17 people killed as muddy rainwater and debris swept through Southern California this week.
Jim and Alice Mitchell moved into their dream retirement home in the ritzy Montecito area of Santa Barbara County in 1999. They'd painted the phrase "Case de Contenta" on the side — "House of Contentment," in Alice Mitchell's words, according to Megan Alice Mitchell, their granddaughter. The Mitchells' family learned Wednesday that they were dead, Megan Mitchell told NBC News. Their bodies were found Tuesday morning on a different street, added Clay Weimer, a son-in-law.