Man missing in the Downtown Cincinnati building collapse has been found dead
By Cameron Knight, Sharon Coolidge, Alexander Coolidge, Bob Strickley, Sarah Brookbank, Segann March and Madeline Mitchell, Cincinnati Enquirer
Nov 26, 2019 at 6:44 PM Nov 27, 2019 at 7:46 AM
Search and rescue workers located the lone missing man from Monday afternoon's partial building collapse in Downtown Cincinnati, according to a text message from the city manager to city council members sent Tuesday night.
"They found him. Hopefully, the family can start the grieving..." Patrick Duhaney wrote in a text viewed by The Enquirer. The screen capture is cut off midsentence.
Multiple city officials confirmed the text message Tuesday.
Duhaney sent another communication to council and Mayor John Cranley:
"I am writing to inform you that crews at the scene of the building collapse have recovered the body of the missing worker.
"The situation remains fluid and more details will be released at an appropriate time by the appropriate parties...
"The heart of the City of Cincinnati goes out to the family and friends of the deceased. This is truly a sad day for our city..."
Efforts to recover the man began immediately following the partial collapse of the seventh floor of the Fourth and Race project around 1 p.m. Monday.
Around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday the nearly constant sound of jackhammers at the site halted and a group of firefighters was seen climbing the structure.
By 8:20 p.m. the crews that ran up the steps with kits in hand were walking back down at a slower pace. A stretcher was seen being brought to the site.
Turner Construction issued a statement confirming the deceased worker was an employee at Gateway Concrete Forming.