Authorities believe they have located the body of a warehouse worker who had been missing for three days after a storm caused a roof collapse at a large commercial building in Phoenix earlier this week. Firefighters began a search and rescue operation for the man after a microburst hit around 9:30 p.m. and lifted the roof off of Freeport Logistics in west Phoenix, according to Phoenix Fire Department spokesperson Capt. Todd Keller.
Around 1 p.m. Saturday, crews found the body of the man near the center of the building where initial reports state he was last seen, Keller said. The body is believed to be 22-year-old Oswaldo Montoya. The man’s death is being investigated by the Phoenix Police Department, which will work with the Maricopa County Medical Examiner to confirm the victim’s identity.
“Oswaldo was a hard worker. He was working a night shift, just supporting his family and caring for his loved ones,” Keller said at a news conference outside the scene. “This is not the outcome we wanted,” Keller stated that the family of the victim had been at the scene and notified of his death.
Body found after Phoenix roof collapse
Those who knew him described him as a “great” dad, brother, son, and son-in-law. Crews searched the site for three days, utilizing drones and rescue dogs to locate the worker.
According to Keller, new crews entered the search site every 12 hours. The roof collapse was catastrophic, said Keller. “These were racks of products 40 feet tall.
When the roof blew off, all those racks collapsed, and it kind of corkscrewed and piled down.” Crews primarily focused search efforts on the center and north side of the building, using heavy equipment, including cranes and Bobcats with grappling attachments. “The complexities of an incident like this are such a large scale,” Keller added. We have completely exhausted all of our resources in the fire department.”
Keller said the site was considered high risk for rescuers, and crews worked carefully and diligently in the dangerous environment.
Structural engineers also worked with search crews as authorities feared a possible secondary collapse.
