After Series of Tragedies, Man Sought New Start in Condo

Among the missing is a widower who sought a fresh start in Florida
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 30, 2021 2:05 PM CDT
Man Missing in Collapse Had Sought New Start in Florida
A photo of Harry Rosenberg, missing since oceanfront condo building collapsed, hangs on a fence as part of a public memorial for victims and those missing, in Surfside, Fla., Tuesday, June 29, 2021.   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Another four bodies were found in the rubble of Champlain Towers South Tuesday night, bringing the death toll in the Florida building collapse to 16—with 147 people still unaccounted for. Among the missing is 52-year-old Harry Rosenberg, a former New York resident who moved to Florida for a fresh start after his wife's death from cancer last year was followed within months by the deaths of both his parents from COVID-19. "He told me, 'It is the next chapter of my life.' He went through hell. His parents passed away. His wife passed away," fellow synagogue member Steve Eisenberg tells the AP. Rosenberg, who bought the Surfside condo last month, was hosting daughter Malky Weisz, 27, and her husband, Benny Weisz, 32, for a visit last week. All three are missing.

Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said Tuesday that she will ask a grand jury to investigate the early Thursday morning collapse, and that she would task them with looking at what can be done to "safeguard our residents without jeopardizing any scientific, public safety, or potential criminal investigations," NBC reports. State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis says rescuers working 12-hour shifts at the site got a boost late Tuesday when heavy equipment was moved closer to the rubble, the Miami Herald reports. "Now you’re able to leverage massive equipment to remove massive pieces of concrete that could lead to those incredible good news events," he says. (In April, residents were warned that problems with the building were getting worse. )

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