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Scott Audette / Reuters
Demolition crews and Hillsborough County Fire Department watch as the house, where Jeffrey Bush was swallowed by a sinkhole, is demolished in Seffner, Florida March 3, 2013.
Seffner, Fla. — There was an eerie silence, broken only by the crunching of wood.
For two and a half hours on Sunday morning, a crane picked apart the home that had already been destroyed by a deadly sinkhole. The operator specifically targeted certain keepsakes. An American flag.
Military awards. A purse. Pictures. The home's address marker, with the number 240.
And a Bible, a symbol of faith, plucked from the crumbling house on Faithway Drive.
Wanda Carter clutched the family heirloom.
"God works in mysterious ways, and he knew we needed this," said Carter, referring to Bible.
"I haven't let it go since I got it, and I won't."
"It's terrible, I knew when the fire department and other rescue workers wouldn't go into the house, that was his last resting place," said the brother of Jeff Bush, 36, who was plunged into the sinkhole as he slept in his bedroom and is presumed dead. NBC's Gabe Gutierrez reports.
She had previously lived in the house after her family bought it in 1974, she said. She will miss the memories.
Her sister Janell Wheeler, who still resided in the home, said she will never forget the Christmases.
Chris O'meara / AP
Jeremy Bush, right, is consoled by an unidentified woman Sunday, March 3, 2013, as he sits outside a home where a sinkhole opened up underneath a bedroom late Thursday evening, swallowing his brother, Jeffrey Bush, in Seffner, Fla. Crews on Sunday began the demolition of the Florida home.
Wheeler said she was in home late Thursday night when she heard the loud crash. She is haunted by the moment she realized one of the bedrooms was gone.
Jeffery Bush, 36, had been renting space inside the house. He'd only been there several months, but was a family friend. On Saturday, crews gave up the search for him, presuming he died in the sink hole.
"He was a fabulous guy, he was a great uncle, everybody loved him, he was fun, a hard worker," said Wheeler.
Half of the home is still standing — memories exposed for all to see. What still can't be seen is the actual hole.
The hole that sucked a man beneath the earth while he slept -- his body, never to be recovered, authorities said.
The demolition is scheduled to continue on Monday. Then engineers will decide how best to fill the 30-feet-wide by 50-feet-deep hole to stabilize the surrounding area.
But for one family — the void will never be filled.
Related: Demolition begins on home in Florida sinkhole tragedy
Hillsborough County Fire Rescue
HCFR's Captain Roberts presents family member Janell Wheeler with a photo that was recovered. She said it was only picture she had of her mother.
Leave a Comment:
PLEASE.........you MUST do all you can to try to recover the man from the sinkhole. At least place listening devices and listen for some days or send remote control video devices in.....before covering it...and saying "THE END".
judymac,There is no possible way this man survived that must dirt being on top of him.All we can do is wish that he went fast and that he now resides with God.
They've been monitoring that hole since shortly after it happened for the faintest sounds of life and nothing has been heard. The equipment is sensitive enough to hear and record breathing or movement 50 feet away. No one can survive being buried in dirt or sand for longer than a couple of minutes. This man is dead, and they won't be able to find his body now. The family knows he is there, just like they would if he was in a man-made grave, and they can say there goodbye's to him there.
yes, why couldn't they go to sturdy unaffected ground with large heavy equipment tie themselves on with walkie talkies and go in....if at least to recover his body....who makes the decision to stop....I am not criticizing...i just think would someone continue if it was me or not continue? this makes me so sad....why do the bad people live and continue their evil deeds and some never get to continue on???????? I am 55 and I have no answers...not a good place to be at this stage of life I think...
Red,white... - The sinkholes are not just the hole you can seen (in this case they still can't see the opening), but it spreads out underground. They don't know exactly how wide the crevasse is underneath of them, so they can't put heavy equipment near the hole because it may enlarge the hole.
This poor guy; one moment he is asleep, and the next he is falling through a 30ft hole in the floor. That's no way to go.
God huh? It's funny how it's always after something bad happens, then he's there to comfort. Where was he before the sinkhole swallowed this poor guy? It's awful what happened. Can't we just say it was horrible luck and maybe leave god out of it? Let's be real here
Dissapointed and ashamed as you should be, may God bless you in all your ignorance, lack of faith and lack of respect. You poor child.
Would have to agree with D&A. Was god taking a nap too when the earth opened up and swallowed this poor man?
A horrible way to go, and sadly not even his faith could save him. I wish his family all the best in their recovery.
Thank you Conker for your sanity and not judging me and my life for a simple comment. Shows you how "godly" people really are. Not.
I am so sorry for their loss. My heart breaks especially for the mans brother Jeremy. He will have to live with the pain of hearing his brothers cries for help and not being able to save him. I hope he finds a good grief counselor to help him deal with this. I am so sorry!
@Ellen ....I cannot agree with you more ,this is the worst for Jeremy to deal for the rest of his life ,with his brother's voice .I believe the rescue team has done more than they could and said to say .this is it .
Brother RIP ,I'm sure you know , your loving brother would have saved you , if it was posible ,just like you see a person getting hit by a car in front of you and is nothing you can do to save 'him/her .
You are comming into this world ,all the same way ,just leaving it's not the same .
Condolences to Jeremy and family ,may God be your consolation and support ,no human kind can do that .He has the answer for everything ,my prayers for you Jeremy .
This is just horrible and they need to recover his body, the pain will not end and what if by some chance he's still alive, this is just like a horror movie..Someone needs to do something not just cave in the house
WarHorse Mom,With a hole that deep in a neighborhood full of homes also at risk from this sinkhole I don't think that it is possible for them to recover the body.The deceased man is gone.Not to sound heartless but to dig him up only to have family bury or have him cremated is senseless.It's a tragedy that I wouldn't wish on anybody.
The interviews I saw yesterday live from the scene, said the hole was about 20 foot across, but went down 50 or 60 feet. That is as tall as a 5 or 6 story building. That is the tragedy. It is very unstable and unsafe. They HAD listening devices and could find no evidence that he was alive. He could be buried by 30 feet of dirt or more. It is such a huge, surreal tragedy.
My heart and prayers go out this family. I lost my only brother in a tragic skydiving accident in 2008. I am so sorry for the surviving brother. I hope he gets emotional, spiritual and physical support from his friends.
I am so sorry.
Just guessing, but I would think that the site will be designated a cemetery and a gravestone will be erected.
A gravestone will be erected???? A gravestone might be sunk.
It probably will not. Sinkholes are not like machine guns---they are not repeaters. Jeeez!
sink hole expert
What a nightmare.
I have to say, I am so upset for this family. Certain news stations were carrying live feeds of that home being razed for the world to see. The world got see this family's life being dragged across their front yard and their bother, uncle, friend be entombed. So distasteful and disrespectful. Let those people deal with their grief privately. Do we need to see everything???
no we don't need to see it all....that is why older people are affected greatly...we lived in the era where you didn't hear and see it all....all I see and hear is horrible things....it makes me so horribly sad.
This is so terrible, my heart aches for the family. Its like something out of a horror movie. And I agree with you 100% Patty Brown-Wagner. I'm ok with reading about it, but let this family have some privacy, and grieve. They don't need their lives plastered all over the TV, the media needs to show some decency and back off.
I also agree, Ms. Brown-Wagner. I love the picture above of all the gawkers watching the grieving woman being given one of the few remaining mementos from her destroyed house. The one dude must have been in a real rush to view it all - he still has his pj's on.
He is probably one of those trashy types who wears pjs as clothes.....
@ homesick yank , have you put your self in that situation ,where you lost everything ,meaning house, life ,getting to the point that you do not care anymore of appearance etc.
I cannot believe some of you have the heart to judge situations like this and not try to fit those shoes .
Condolences Brother Jeremy ,your brother will say "do not worry I'm better now ".
he's talking about the gawker behind the "do not cross tape" with a smirk on his face.
My heart goes out to all involved. I pray that God will comfort them.
A relative, when she heard this news, thought at first that Jeb Bush, son of George Bush Senior and once a Governor of Florida, had gone down a sinkhole. "Sinkhole", in her mind, being a metaphor for judicial reactions for election hanky-panky that Jeb Bush might have committed in Florida. Later she learnt that it was a man named Jeffery Bush who went down a real sinkhole in Florida.
It appears that some people want politicians to go down a sinkhole before they send the economy down a sinkhole...as the sequestration might do.
"Expect some sinkholes", as scientists and economists claim, "real or metaphorical, to expand"!
Dr. MS, you should be ashamed of yourself for trying to turn this tragedy into something political. Also, please learn how to spell. "Learnt" isn't a word.
And Jamie, you should be ashamed of yourself for not knowing that learnt is a perfectly valid form of the past tense for the verb learn.
Jamie...you must be a relative of Jeb Bush! I have never seen this much anger and defensiveness over a casual sharing of what a relative assumed when she heard the news. Your comment about my spelling shows ignorance and arrogance. Some might call you "a pushy idiot"! "Some"...not me! :))
Your uncle Jeb must be very proud of you. You come with a battle axe for him, but never mention once the man who actually died in the sinkhole. You got your priorities tied to politics...and you talk about mine? Develop self awareness, humility and some intelligence...maybe then the politics, that you defend so aggressively, might do better!
My condolences to the man who died in the sinkhole, Jeffery Bush...not Jeb Bush!
Those who think Jeb Bush went down the real sinkhole are wrong...and Jamie wants you to know that!
Satisfied Jamie?
I thought they said Jeb bush too....so maybe the reporters made an innocent blunder...or maybe it just sounds so similar nothing to fight over....we can all have a different opinion
pssssss the younger generation makes alot of blunders and not spelling something right is the least of their poor behavior
@ DR MS, I know it wasn't your idea about JEFF BUSH, but as humans we cannot wish death upon anyone and first we are humans and than we live to do what we have to do .Just a humanly thought .
On top of everything else, Directv will probably screw them over for satellite boxes that were lost.
you hit that one right..DirecTV charged my mother's credit card $345 for not honoring her entire contract..reason for cancellation..she died.
Gabe Gutierrez - Please go back to school and learn how to write, edit and proofread if you want to claim to be a reporter/writer. What's with the double spaced incomplete sentences? Why do you insist on omitting articles such as "the"? Is English not your first language? Jeez! You obviously have no pride in your work.
This article was really poorly written. A journalist, besides using grammar properly and writing in full sentences, should report on the facts, not their own emotions or opinions, unless it is an editorial.
Sorry, had to say that; I'm glad someone else noticed it, too. It really shows a lack of respect by the news agency for the people involved. Anyway, my heart goes out to the surviving brother; what a nightmarish tragedy.
NBC, like most news agencies, is too cheap to employ editors, that is the problem. No pride in their product.
To bad Ms. Carter thinks god works in mysterious ways. Only the bible was saved but the poor guy's dead. (not in heaven not in hell just dead.) All hail the good book.
No god doesn't work in mysterious ways because there is no god just a bogus book written by man for people who are afraid of death.
I guess the insurance company will say it was an "act of god"
Live your life free of fear and don't buy into myth's
To bad only the bible was saved. Ms Carter thinks god works in mysterious way. Poor guy is still dead (not in heaven not in hell just dead)
The bible was saved, a book written by man for fools who are afraid to die.
live your life in peace and stop believing in myth's. I bet the insurance will say it was an "Act of god" so we don't have to pay.
Chuchie I suggest you try reading a Bible and learn something.
Shameful no one basically did anything to try and help this man. With all the equipment able to reach hundreds of feet (Even a Helicopter could have been used) and lower a basket or whatever to try and help and yet nothing was done. You can bet had it been the relative of someone that considers themselves important they would have called out the national guard if necessary to try and rescue him. Good example was Kennedy's son when he crashed his plane off Martha's Vineyard.. Shameful that none of the first responders in the news and so often praised did nothing to help just a common man.
The only thing SHAMEFUL is your condemnation of the people brave enough to go inside that home and lower listening devices for hours.
A 50-60 deep hole, constantly collapsing? The man was buried and suffocated quickly.
If your post is an indication of your "religion", please save us all from it.
The first responders apparently saved the man's brother who was trying to reach his brother in the sink hole but then needed to be rescued himself. If they felt that the man who was swallowed up by the sink hole could not be helped, there is no need for more lives to be lost in a recovery mission. Anyone falling 50 to 60' will die then to have the soil and debris from the bedroom fall on him, surely he is gone.
My heart goes out to this poor family, it's a horror you don't wish on anyone.
Dan, I surmise you have either failed to see or read any prior coverage of this tragedy or your comprehension of THIS article is lacking:
In other words, 10 helicopters could've been called out but if they can't see the hole they can't lower anything into it. The HOUSE prevented that. Demolishing the house would most certainly have added to the debris falling into the hole. As mentioned, the pressure from the weight of the soil would most likely have killed the poor man. Rescue crews did what they could before making the decision to stop recovery efforts - they are trained in this sort of thing.
The National Guard wouldn't respond to this type of scenario without the govenor's order of activation. A plane crash has its' own criteria and falls under federal aviation rules. Even a wealthy family would likely be denied because no agency will risk the lives of countless others in this type of situation. Money, or a lack thereof, has nothing to do with this. The story is tragic, and I hope the families continue to bond together and help each other during this sad time.
As an aside, I have been surprised to learn sinkholes are so common as have been reported, and as others living in Florida have discussed in reader comments. My question is with the availability of using sonar and geoimaging, what steps or guidelines are being put into place to limit or restrict suspect areas from being developed? Granted, this area was developed long ago, but I am curious as to what the housing industry is doing NOW to prevent building in risky areas? Further, what is the state government doing to protect citizens? Forcing insurers to offer sinkhole insurance seems woefully inadequate.
I am aghast at this picture....."hey, honey, let's pile the kids in the car and go over and watch this sinkhole thing". Good lord.
How can they verify that the man went down in the sinkhole? Was it just the few people there that heard his cries?
This is awful. I hope they find his remains this has to be very difficult for those who love him.
They know he has died.
If it were my son, I would let him be. I wouldn't want anyone risking their life inside a collapsing hole.
That entire neighborhood is going to go down.
Nice pants.
A house in my former neighborhood just blew up, killing the owner (a 58 year old man) and blowing him onto the lawn. No press for this equal tragedy. The cause was apparently a gas line that the power company dropped the ball on, despite complaints.
Yeah, it happened 5-6 years ago. I forget where, but the circumstance was slightly sifferent. The guy was in the living room reading the paper and whammo - he slipped into an abyss. Don't think they recovered him either. With furniture and all down there with him, would seemingly be possible to have an air pocket but it would be too late for him now. 30+ ft of soil is HEAVY too.
I am amused at the failure of logic.... "god"? What a ridiculous notion. A "bible" recovered. When will people realized that mankind made up "gods" to feel less insignificant? Also, when will people stop being indoctrinated into stupidity?
Blah blah blah, "god" works in mysterious ways. Right, all "gods" work in genocidal, sadistic, torturous, unremorseful, inefficient and ineffective, stupid, petty and imaginary ways.
wow dude chill lay off the caffeine take a walk or something! what a dick!
Charlie,
Regardless of your mastery of "logic", why can't you simply respect the grieving family and keep your brilliance to yourself? Surely, you can find a forum where you don't need to stir into people's deep, fresh, emotional wounds while you espouse your views. Or, is it really you who is sadistic, torturous, stupid, petty and unremorseful?
i have heard several things not pronounced correctly on tv....come on....if you kids want to go to school then start at block one and learn the basics!!!!!
this is pretty common it happens all over the world! sinkholes have killed before and will kill again. heavy hearts and prayers to the family.
Is it just me or does that dumba$$ in the Tampa Bay hoodie look like he's looking for something to loot? I think his mommy still dresses him. some people what a douche!
That guy looks like Pee-Wee Herman's bunk mate.