Pentagon budget analyst Brenda Kegler, 49, has been missing since Tuesday, when a hijacked plane plowed into the military complex. Kegler, of Capitol Heights, Md., worked at the Pentagon for 30 years.

''She's like the backbone of the family,'' said Rush.

Rush was among more than 100 families who came to a Sheraton Hotel in Crystal City - about two miles from the Pentagon - seeking information about their lost loved ones. The Department of Defense set up an outpost at the hotel to help families get answers. Volunteers tried to provide solace: holding a hand, gently rubbing a back or just listening.

''They want to know where their loved one is, and unfortunately, at this time, we can't answer that,'' said Marine Corps Maj. Ben Owens, a Defense Department spokesman.

''It's going to take a while,'' Owens said. ''We don't expect it to happen any time soon. We want to be able to answer the question almost as badly as they want the answer.''

The Pentagon announced a preliminary death toll from Tuesday's attack of 190 people. Hours later, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said in an interview on ABC News that the final toll could go as high as 250.

Floyd Rasmussen, a management analyst at the Pentagon, was at the Crystal City Sheraton. He had a picture of his missing wife, Rhonda Ridge Rasmussen, pinned to his shirt. She began her job as a budget analyst in April.

''I'll spend the rest of my life celebrating hers,'' said Rasmussen. The Woodbridge, Va., couple planned to move to California in October. They would have been married 27 years on Nov. 23.

Rasmussen said the airplane crashed into the building pretty much where his wife's office was located. Her body hadn't been recovered, he said.

Rasmussen said he had fully expected to see his wife Tuesday evening, coming in the door with her day planner in one hand and her lunch cooler in the other. ''I thought we'd sit down, cry and get over it.''

About 70 bodies had been removed from the buckled section of the Pentagon Thursday morning as search-and-rescue workers toiled with little hope of finding more survivors. Remains were being taken to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to be identified.

Rescuers said they had received a signal from the flight recorder of the commercial jetliner that crashed into the Pentagon, but they won't be able to retrieve the black box until they can get into the area of the building that collapsed. The black box contains flight data and cockpit voice recordings and may provide investigators with information about the flight's last moments.

Crews begin removing debris in that area by Thursday night, said Arlington County, Va., Fire Capt. Scott McKay. Rescue workers spent most of the day erecting wooden columns to stabilize the area to the left of where the plane crashed.

The process of going through the rubble piece by piece and looking for remains is arduous, said Arlington, Va., Fire Chief Edward P. Plaugher. ''We're going to be there many, many days,'' he said.

The Army estimated it had lost 74 people: 21 soldiers, 47 civilians and six contractors. The Navy lost 42 people: 33 sailors and nine civilians. The Marine Corps and the Air Force believe they lost no personnel at the Pentagon.