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More than 150 people are still missing in Surfside four days after Thursday's collapse. Authorities and their loved ones fear that the death toll will rise.The Noriega family hoped their 92-year old matriarch Hilda Noriega would survive as rotating rescue teams used power tools and heavy machinery to remove the rubble from the top.Mike Noriega was horrified to hear that a portion of the condo tower where his grandmother lived had fallen. He rushed with his father and ran to get help. The remains of Champlain Towers South, a 12-story building, was found in a 30-foot pile of concrete and metal.They found mementos of Hildas' life at the sixth floor, including an old photo of Hildas with her husband and infant son and a birthday card her friends had sent two weeks before with the acronym ESM (Spanish for hand-delivered).Mike Noriega said there was a message hidden in all of this. He last spoke to his grandmother on the day before the catastrophe. It is not to lose hope. To believe.Charles Burkett, the Mayor of Surfside, assured families that rescuers are working continuously. He stated that there was nothing else in our minds, and the sole objective of pulling families out of that rubble.We won't stop doing this -- not today, tomorrow, or the next day. We will keep going until everyone is out.Hilda was described by the Noriega family as a vibrant, independent and passionate retiree. Mike said that Hilda is the youngest 92 year-old I know. 92 being on 62.Champlain Towers South had been Hilda Noriega's home for over 20 years. Six years after her husband's death, she was ready for the move. She was going to move in with her family, as the condo was up for sale.She loved being near the ocean and her friends. But when you lose your spouse, you want to be surrounded with family. Sally Noriega is Hildas's daughter-in-law.Hilda Noriega, her daughter in law, described her as a loving woman who built a home with her husband and raised her family after moving to the U.S. in 1960 from Cuba.Sally stated that she was one of those people who, from the moment she first met someone, she loved them both.Carlos Noriega was Hildas' son and chief of police in North Bay Village. He was also one of the first responders to the top of the pile.The Noriegas aren't sure what to do with the precious mementos that were found in the chaos. But Sally stated: "We are a family made up of faith." Let's just say that.They are one of many anguished families waiting for news on their loved ones' fate. It has been a long wait.Two people who were present at the briefings in a hotel ballroom on Saturday night for around 200 family members was tense. They told The Associated Press that they could not speak out because of their private conversations.Two of the victims' families were frustrated by the slow pace of recovery and demanded that they be allowed on the scene to attempt a collective shout. This was to try to find survivors, but also to grieve for those who had lost their loved ones.Saturday's announcement by the mayor that three bodies were identified had reduced the unaccounted for population to 156. Crews also found other human remains unidentified. To aid in identification, authorities are collecting DNA samples from relatives and are sending the remains to the medical examiner.An online video showed an official briefing families. People began to sob when he stated that they had found remains in the rubble.Four victims were identified late Saturday night: Stacie Dawn Fang (54), Antonio Lozano (83), Gladys Lozano (79), and Manuel LaFont (54).Burkett stated that a city official had conducted a cursory inspection of nearby Champlain Towers North, Champlain Towers East buildings and found nothing unusual.This news was made possible by a 2018 engineering report. It showed that the building, built in 1981, suffered severe structural damage to the concrete slab beneath its pool deck. The city released a series documents that included detailed repairs.Further documentation revealed that the estimated cost for the repairs was more than $9 million. This included nearly $3.2 million to fix the exterior fasciade and garage entrance remediation.Officials said that no cause was known for Thursday's collapse, but Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis stated that a prompt and definitive answer was required.
