Remembering the dead and missing in Florida condo collapse

SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) — Authorities have recognized 4 of the 9 people conagencyed to have died after the collapse of a 12-story beachfront rentalminium in Florida. About 150 completely differents reprimaryed lacking Sunday as rescuers painstakingly searched by way of the rubble of the Champlain Towers South. The Associated Press has been reporting short-term descriptions of the victims.

The Miami-Dade Police Division said the lifeless embrace Stacie Daybreak Fang, Manuel LaFont and Antonio and Gladys Lozano. The lacking embrace Linda March, whose penthouse house was ripped aside, leaving her office chair subsequent to the abyss; Elaine Sabino, a former baton twirler and flight attendant who stayed lively as a stomach dancer, and Claudio Bonnefoy, a second cousin of The earlier Chilean president.

Elaine Sabino, 70, dealt with completely differents with The identical care and kindness she displayed as a flight attendant for US Airmethods and JetBlue, her good friend said.

“The primary factor people Discover out about Elaine is, she’s On A daily basis there To Supply you a hand in everyfactor you’re doing,” her good friend, Shelly Angle, tprevious the Miami Herald. “She was The final phrase hostess, on the airplane, All by way of the place.”

Sabino, who was in a penthouse on the Twelfth flooring when the assembleion collapsed, Continues to be lacking.

Angle said her good friend was staying lively, and was An excellent jazz and stomach dancer. Sabino graduated from the College of Florida, the place she was a baton twirler on the Gatorette group. Later, she taught baton twirling and judged nationwide competitions.

She had been complaining about enchancment on the roof of the rental constructing, her brcompletely different-in-regulation, Douglas Berdeaux, tprevious The Washington Submit. There was no willpower about what made the constructing crumble.

“She said she was apprehensive thOn the ceiling was going To collapse on prime of her mattress,” he said.

CLAUDIO and MARIA OBIAS BONNEFOY

The apprehensive daughters of a Chilean man and his spouse who stayd on the Tenth flooring of Champlain Towers South arrived On the scene with rising anger over whOn they’re studying about factors with the constructing earlier than it collapsed.

Sisters Anne Marie and Pascale Bonnefoy said their father Claudio Bonnefoy and his Filipino-American spouse Maria Obias Bonnefoy had been spending little time Inside the house, And probably Wouldn’t have been Amongst The numerous lacking if not for the pandemic.

Bonnefoy, an 85-yr-previous regulationyer, is the second cousin of former Chilean President and Extreme Commissioner for Human Propers Michelle Bachelet, and each he and his spouse labored for worldwide organizations, they said.

“We’re simply processing all this however That is Starting to make me indignant as a Outcome of reviews from yrs in the past reporting critical structural damage to the constructing are little by little being acknowledged,” said Pascale Bonnefoy. “Notifications Which have been ignored, And even thOn the constructing was assembleed on wetlands, thOn The enchancment was with sand and thOn the salt started to corrode the iron.”

Richard Augustine, 77, was simply hours amethod from a flight to Chicin the past, the place his daughter, Debbie Hill, had deliberate To choose him up On the airport.

Instead, she watched video of the rental collapse, And will see her dad’s greater-flooring unit plummeting, then disappearing in a cloud of mud.

“That was pretty scary To watch,” she tprevious Chicin the past’s ABC7. “Immediately I tried to name him and his telephone went straight to voicemail.”

Augustine had simply go toed his son in California, and went again to his Florida house to repack for the weekend go to Collectively with his daughter.

Augustine grew up Inside the Chicin the past space and stayd Inside the suburbs earlier than shifting to Florida, the place he labored Inside the air freight enterprise and deliberate to retire Inside The autumn.

Hill tprevious FOX32 in Chicin the past that her father shared the house with a roommate, who additionally was nonetheless lacking.

Juan Mora Jr., who works for Morton Salt in Chicin the past, had been staying Collectively with his mom and father, Juan and Ana Mora, when the constructing collapsed.

Immigrants from Cuba and religious Catholics, they took their househprevious on missionary journeys to the Caribbean To assemble church constructings and bridges, said Jeanne Ugarte, An in depth good friend of Ana’s. Later, they turned like second mom and father to Juan Jr.’s pals in Chicin the past, the place their son has managed East Coast distrihoweverion for Morton Salt’s road salt enterprise, his good friend Matthew Kaade said.

When the Moras Acquired here to go to, They might take all of Juan Jr.‘s pals out to dinner. In Florida, they launched Kaade to Cuban espresso and meals, he said. “They have been The Sort of mom and father that Even when somephysique says ‘I’m not hungry,’ They might simply proceed to order meals To Make assembleive you had a full stomach,” he said.

Kaade, who graduated with Mora from Loyala College Chicin the past in 2011, said he texted this month saying he was planning to return to Chicin the past in early August.

“I used to be super excited to get him To return again,” said Kaade. He descrimattress Juan Jr., an avid Chicin the past Cubs fan, as real and somephysique his pals might On A daily basis Rely upon “to be exact and straight” with them.

It Does not matter what occurs, A gaggle of pals will journey Proper dpersonal to Florida — hopefully to rejoice with Juan Jr. and his househprevious As quickly as they’re found — however assembleive to rejoice him both method, as a Outcome of That is what he would have needed, Kaade said.

“Regardless of The Outcome, It is going to be a celebration of his life,” he said. “I primarytain saying your story Isn’t over … I’ve hope that It is going to be Juan persevering with his personal story, however no matter what, I’ll be there to be Definitely one of many many To assist carry it on,” he said.

Amongst the lacking was Linda March, who eagerly traded a cramped Ny house for current air and ocean views after surviving a COVID-19 an infection.

She rented Penthouse 4, whose inside was uncovered, with bunk mattresss and an office chair nonetheless intact, simply Contained in the damaged edge the place The Reprimaryder of the 12-story constructing crumbled Proper into a pile of particles.

March had been using the second mattressroom of the furnished house as her office, biggest good friend Rochelle Laufer tprevious The Associated Press on Sunday.

Ancompletely different good friend, Daybreak Falco, said That they had been talking on the telephone till simply two hours earlier than the disaster, and immediately started Wanting for phrase on her good friend, who she said by no means leaves The house “And by no means using a smile.”

“My coronary heart is breaking as I see the office chair that she simply purchased subsequent to the bunkmattresss,” Falco said.

Florida was A mannequin new start for the 58-yr-previous lawyer. Prior to now decade, she’d misplaced her sister and mcompletely different to most cancers, her father died A pair of yrs later And she or he and her husband divorced. She had no youngsters.

“She would say to me, ‘I’m On their lonesome. I don’t have househprevious,’ And that I might say, ‘You’re my sister, you don’t Want to be born sisters. And I said you On A daily basis have me’,” Laufer recounted by way of tears.

Laufer said March liked the ocean views however hated the incessant noise from close by enchancment and had decided To interrupt her lease. “She was Looking for ancompletely different house when this occurred,” Laufer said sadly.

Still, Laufer had been planning To go to her good friend this fall.

“I joked I’m going to take The very biggest bunk As quickly as I go to,” she said.

Stacie Daybreak Fang, 54, was Collectively with her son Jonah Handler, An adolescent, when the constructing collapsed. They stayd on the tenth flooring. The boy’s small hand waved by way of the wreckage as A particular person out strolling his canine hurried to The state of affairs, climmattress by way of a pile of glass and rebar and promised to get assist Immediately.

Rescuers assisted the boy out from beneath a pile of cement and carried him amethod on a stretcher to a hospital.

“There Are not any phrases To Clarify the tragic Lack of our beliked Stacie,” members of her househprevious said in A press launch. “Many coronary heartfelt phrases of encouragement and love have served as a a lot needed supply of power by way ofout this devastating time.”

Requested Regarding the boy’s situation, a househprevious good friend, Lisa Mozloom tprevious the AP “He Shall be nice. He’s a miracle.”

Manuel LaFont, 54, was a proud father, a baseball fan and a enterprise advisor who stayd on the constructing’s eighth flooring. He had A ten-yr-previous son and 13-yr-previous daughter Collectively with his ex-spouse Adriana LaFont, the Miami Herald reported.

Adriana asked her pals on Fb To want the rosary for Manny earlier than his physique was found. “So many reminiscences Contained in the partitions That are not any extra right now, eternally engraved experiences Inside The center,” she wrote.

LaFont, a Houston native, coached his son’s baseball group, the Astros, at North Shore Park, Solely a mile amethod from the Champlain. He was a parishioner at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Miami Seashore. The parish’s school mom and father gathered Saturday afternoon To want for LaFont and his neighbors who have been nonetheless lacking.

An alumnus of Sharpstpersonal Extremeschool in Houston, LaFont had labored throughout Latin America and the Caribbean for A producing agency, main a division Specializing in roadmethod safety that assembleed crash cushions and moveable obstacles, the Herald reported.

“I got into this enterprise particularly as a Outcome of I don’t Have to promote widgets. I need To assist people. I even Want to do one factor good On this world,” he said at an enterprise convention in 2016. “When I die, I even Want to say that my life meant one factor.”

ANTONIO AND GLADYS LOZANO

Antonio and Gladys Lozano stayd on the ninth flooring. The two had acknowledged Every completely different over 60 yrs and would have rejoiced their 59th Marriage ceremony anniversary on July 21.

Their sons tprevious WPLG-Tv thOn the couple had joked nboth needed to die earlier than The completely different, as a Outcome of nboth needed to stay with out The completely different. Their one solace, the brcompletely differents said, was thOn they have been together when they died.

Authorities conagencyed on Saturday that Antonio, 83, and Gladys, 79, have been Amongst The numerous lifeless.

Sergio Lozano said he had dinner Collectively with his mom and father hours earlier than the collapse. He stayd in Definitely one of many towers of the complicated And will see his mom and father’ house throughout The biggest method from his. That Evening time, he said the heard a loud noise they thought Could be a storm.

“The constructing Isn’t there,” he said he tprevious his spouse. “My mom and father’ house Isn’t there. It’s gone.”

Michael Tarm reported from Chicin the past.

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