KVSP Body of Branden Colvin found inside collapsed Iowa building; 2 remain missing
Written by ABC Audio ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on June 4, 2023
(DAVENPORT, Iowa) — The body of one of the missing residents still thought to be inside of a partially collapsed apartment building in Iowa has been found, officials told ABC News.
Branden Colvin, 42, was found on Saturday — a week after the building in downtown Davenport, Iowa, collapsed, Sarah Ott, chief strategy officer for the City of Davenport, confirmed to ABC News.
Colvin was one of three people still unaccounted for. Ryan Hitchcock, 51, and Daniel Prien, 60, remain missing.
All three residents lived in apartments in the section of the building that collapsed, according to authorities, officials said.
They were likely inside the structure in an area that’s “not sustainable for life,” officials said.
The Iowa Task Force 1, an urban search and rescue team trained and equipped by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, arrived in the city on Thursday with live and cadaver dogs to search for humans, alive and dead, the city announced in a press release.
More than a dozen people were evacuated at the time of the collapse, while an additional eight people and several pets were evacuated in the 24 hours after.
Members of the community called for the demolition to be delayed after rescuers pulled a ninth person alive through a fourth-story window last Monday.
The day after the crash, city officials announced there was no credible information that anyone was still missing and that the city would move forward with plans to demolish the remaining structure on Tuesday. It is unclear how the woman had not been found earlier, despite the use of thermal imaging, drones and dogs.
The structure is unstable and continues to degrade, officials warned. Search crews are working with structural engineers on how to best search the building while avoiding the piles of debris.
The debris is currently helping to stabilize the building, and removing it could “jeopardize or accelerate the inevitable collapse,” according to city officials.
Ott said the city has no additional comment at this time.
ABC News’ Jianna Cousin, Alex Perez and Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.
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