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Hunt for Survivors of Davenport Building Collapse

  Amy Anderson, cousin of Ryan Hitchcock, thought to be still in the building and may not have survived.
WVIK News
Amy Anderson, cousin of Ryan Hitchcock, thought to be still in the building and may not have survived.
 Carlos Fierros of East Moline joined the other demonstrators on 4th Street urging the city to keep looking for survivors
WVIK News
Carlos Fierros of East Moline joined the other demonstrators on 4th Street urging the city to keep looking for survivors

A section of the building collapsed late Sunday afternoon and authorities think they've accounted for 48 of the 53 residents.

Amy Anderson thinks her cousin, Ryan Hitchcock, is still inside, and probably has died.

"I don't discount that he could be trapped under there miraculously, we've seen some miraculous things, and out God is good, but we don't want to see any more families lose their lives or anybody else be injured."

Fire Marshall Jim Morris wishes they could go back inside right now to check for victims and family pets, but can't because the building is unstable.

"It's the opinion of the structural engineer that any additional search operations in the area of that pile of debris should be avoided due to potential collapse. We are currently evaluating the risk assessment of where we can go back into that building to do this other search."

Two evaluations by structural engineers this year concluded the building needed repairs but was safe to live in.

 the scene Tuesday morning on 4th Street
WVIK News
the scene Tuesday morning on 4th Street

Copyright 2023 WVIK, Quad Cities NPR. To see more, visit WVIK, Quad Cities NPR.

A native of Detroit, Herb Trix began his radio career as a country-western disc jockey in Roswell, New Mexico (“KRSY, your superkicker in the Pecos Valley”), in 1978. After a stint at an oldies station in Topeka, Kansas (imagine getting paid to play “Louie Louie” and “Great Balls of Fire”), he wormed his way into news, first in Topeka, and then in Freeport Illinois.