Iowa building collapse - latest: Davenport authorities quit rubble search for missing despite family pleas

Cause of the apartment collapse remains undetermined and no deaths have been reported despite three men remaining unaccounted for

Video shows dramatic aftermath of building collapse in Iowa

Three men are still feared to be trapped under the wreckage of the residential building that collapsed in Davenport, Iowa, earlier this week - despite a search for survivors has been completed.

Ryan Hitchcock, Branden Colvin and Daniel Prien remain unaccounted for five days after a large section of the six-story building collapsed. Relatives of Mr Hitchcock and Mr Colvin believe the men are in the rubble, while police say they have not been in contact with Mr Prien’s family.

Authorities say a task force completed their search for survivors on Thursday 2 June and the city would move to begin taking down the remaining shaky structure.

Questions about the history of the building’s structural integrity have risen.

Ryan Shaffer told The Quad-Cities Times he gave at least three warnings that the structure’s instability could prove deadly. His first warning came in February, when he claims Mr Wold approached him with potential work to shore up the building – but then decided to hire a cheaper firm instead.

Just two days before the collapse, Mr Shaffer said he told construction workers: “Get away, you’re going to die.”

Key Points

• Three residents still missing as search efforts continue
• Contractor says he warned Davenport building owner of likely collapse
• Family of woman rescued from Iowa building collapse reveal how screams saved her from demolition
• Residents say building was known to have issues: ‘Our bathroom caved in December'
• Gas leak noted as possible cause as fire chief warns of secondary collapse

[2 June 2023 12:00 · Andrea Blanco]

Tenant who had moved into building 24 hours before collapse is reunited with her cat LuLu

Elizabeth Pruitt, an intern at The Quad-Cities Times, had moved into The Davenport less than 24 hours before its collapse. Ms Pruitt, originally from Missouri, saw the listing online, said she felt the images she saw in the online listings and on a videocall with the property management were not how the building really looked inside.

“The first thing I notice when I walk in the building is how gross it is, how unclean it is. And I don’t mean it hasn’t been cleaned in a month. It truly seems like it hasn’t been cleaned in years,” she told the Times.

Ms Pruitt, who had brought her cat Lulu in the move, left to go to Target on Sunday evening. When she returned, the rear part of her building was gone.

“I said, ‘That’s my building.’ And I just break down. I rushed to the cop that’s near me, and I’m trying to get information and he doesn’t tell me anything. He just tells me a building collapsed,” Ms Pruitt said. “I tell him, ‘That’s my apartment. My stuff’s inside. My cat’s inside.’ And he just says, ‘Well I can’t let you in. Nobody’s going in.’”

Her biggest worry was Lulu, Ms Pruitt said. And for nearly 48 hours, she anxiously waited for updates until a coworker informed her the Humane Society of Scott County had rescued her.

“All I read was, ‘We have Lulu,’ and I cried,” she said.

Ms Pruitt is receiving donations through a GoFundMe to cover her losses.

(Elizabeth Pruitt/GoFundMe)

[2 June 2023 13:00 · Andrea Blanco]

WATCH: Ninth person rescued from wreckage of Iowa building collapse

[2 June 2023 13:58 · Megan Sheets]

Man arrested for trespassing at collapse site

A man was arrested late Thursday for trespassing at the site of the collapsed Davenport apartment building.

News 8 captured video of 49-year-old Laverne Clark being escorted from the scene as he repeatedly yelled: “For trying to save a life?”

Jail records indicate he is facing misdemeanor charges of trespass and harassment.

The collapse site has seen frequent protests this week over the city’s handling of rescue efforts as three men remain unaccounted for.

[2 June 2023 14:30 · Megan Sheets]

Davenport mayor says ‘hell yeah’ to having regrets

Facing persistent scrutiny over the collapse of a building in his city, Davenport Mayor Mike Matson heartily confirmed that he has regrets over the situation.

“Do I have regrets about this tragedy and about people potentially losing their lives? Hell yeah. Do I think about this every moment? Hell yeah,” Mr Matson told reporters on Thursday. “I have regrets about a lot of things. Believe me, we’re going to look at that.”

His comments came as three men remain missing more than four days after the collapse.

City officials have said they didn’t order an evacuation of the apartment building prior to the collapse because an engineer had assured it was safe - despite repeated complaints from tenants and visible damage on the structure’s exterior.

Davenport Mayor Mike Matson gives an update on the building collapse (Quad City Times)

[2 June 2023 15:30 · Joe Sommerlad]

Son of man missing in Iowa building collapse is sleeping at site in hopes of hearing his dad’s voice

Branden Colvin Jr has been sleeping outside of the six-storey apartment building that collapsed in Davenport, Iowa, in hopes of hearing his father’s voice.

His father, Branden Colvin Sr is one of the three residents that have been missing since the building collapsed on Sunday.

“I know my dad’s in there and there’s nothing I can do,” Mr Colvin Jr told ABC News.

Mr Colvin Sr lived on the fourth floor of The Davenport.

Ariana Baio has this report.

[2 June 2023 16:30 · Joe Sommerlad]

‘High probability’ missing men were in their homes when building collapsed as new surveillance footage released

Here’s a look at some new CCTV footage of Sunday’s disaster as the search continues for Ryan Hitchcock, Branden Colvin and Daniel Prien.

CNN meanwhile has this on a engineering report into the building’s structural failings that was filed just four days before the partial collapse took place and has since been released.

[2 June 2023 17:00 · Joe Sommerlad]

Rescuers ‘complete' search for survivors, move on to recovery

An Iowa task force has said it has completed a search for survivors at the site of the partially collapsed apartment building in downtown Davenport and is moving ahead with its plan to shore up the structure so that recovery efforts can begin, city authorities said on Friday.

The state task force was mobilised and on site to first search for survivors and then secure the structure, said Rick Halleran, the chief of the task force’s Cedar Rapids division.

He said the search for survivors was completed on Thursday evening after electrical equipment connected to the building were controlled.

“We do what the building tells us to do,” Mr Halleran said of the delay in searching the building.

The structure “needed to settle” before rescuers could proceed, he explained.

Confusion remains as the whereabouts of missing residents Ryan Hitchcock, Branden Colvin and Daniel Prien, who have seemingly not yet been found.

[2 June 2023 17:30 · Joe Sommerlad]

Newsmax branded ‘incompetent hacks’ for using images of Iowa building collapse in Russia drone strike report

The far-right network Newsmax came under fire for using images from a building collapse in Davenport, Iowa, in a report about a drone strike in Moscow, Russia.

On Wednesday, Newsmax featured harrowing images of the collapse as host Greta Van Susteren delivered a report on a “disturbing” drone attack in Moscow, Russia, according to Media Matters. In doing so, the network could lead viewers to believe that the drone strike caused the destruction seen in the photo thousands of miles away.The mistake prompted mockery from Twitter users.

“These are not serious people. Laughable, incompetent hacks,” author Brian O’Sullivan wrote.

[2 June 2023 18:00 · Ariana Baio]

Photos show portions of collapsed building

(Getty Images)

(Getty Images)

(Getty Images)

[2 June 2023 18:30 · Joe Sommerlad]

Rescue work captured on social media

A look at the scene in Davenport as rescue workers and search dogs come and go from 324 Main Street.