Davenport, Iowa
CNN
—
[Breaking news update, published at 11:13 a.m. ET]
Two people who were previously unaccounted for after the partial collapse of an Iowa apartment building Sunday have been found safe, Davenport police said Thursday. But three other people – including at least two who lived in the area of the accident – remain missing.
[Previous story, published at 10:49 a.m. ET]
Brandon Colvin Jr. has been sleeping on the cold sidewalk outside the partially collapsed apartment building where her father may be trapped in the rubble.
The 18-year-old should prepare for high school graduation on Saturday. But he refuses to leave the precarious scene, even as Iowa officials warn that the rest of the Davenport building could collapse at any moment.
“If they told me I could, I’d go in there right now,” Colvin told CNN, fighting back tears. “I haven’t slept. I’ve been here three days, at night, all night, waiting for anything.”
His father, Branden Colvin Sr., is one of five people still missing Thursday after a large portion of the building collapsed Sunday afternoon.
Although no deaths were reported, eight people were rescued from the building within a day of the collapse, officials said. By Monday afternoon, the city said rescue efforts had turned into a recovery operation and the building was it is expected to be demolished on Tuesday morning
But those demolition plans were scrapped after a ninth survivor was unexpectedly rescued from an apartment on Monday afternoon.
“That’s an indicator that we need to go up there (again),” Davenport Fire Marshal Jim Morris said Tuesday.
But every time rescue crews entered the structure, the building shifted, Morris said. And a massive weight load on what’s left of the roof, including air conditioning units and utility equipment, heightens the risk of total collapse, potentially crushing rescue crews and anyone else who might be inside .
Now, the families of some of the missing are at odds over what should happen next.
Ryan Hitchcock’s family has already come to terms with the possibility that their loved one is gone and supports the city’s plans to carefully demolish the rest of the building to prevent further damage, family member Amy Anderson said.
“Ryan wouldn’t want anyone else to put his life in danger,” Anderson said at a news conference Tuesday.
“I don’t discount that he might miraculously get stuck down there,” he said. “But we don’t want any more families to lose their lives or anyone else to be hurt trying to remove this debris and have anything fall.”
After days of use dogs, drones, thermal imaging and other tools, the odds of finding more survivors seem slim.
“We work with other entities and our department to dispose of potential human remains with dignity,” said Davenport Fire Marshal Morris.
And the way the building partially collapsed “reduces the chances that there are spaces, what we call void spaces, large spaces where people can survive,” said Larry Sandhaas, a structural engineer hired by the city to assess the building
But Colvin’s family hasn’t given up and urged officials to keep searching.
“You know there are still people missing, but you want to tear down the building. What’s the point of that?” Colvin’s cousin, Preston McDowell, told CNN. “They’re not giving us any answers. I just don’t get it.”
The missing man’s son said he’s not sure if he’ll be able to walk across the stage at graduation Saturday.
“This week, on Tuesday, we had finals and I tried to go to school. As soon as I walked in, I just broke down and was just crying,” the younger Colvin said. “So, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to go to my graduation.”
