Estelle Hedaya is the last person on the list of missing persons after the collapse of the Surfside apartment in Florida, and authorities confirmed her remains on Monday.
The 54-year-old Hedaya is described as an outgoing person who loves to travel. After four weeks of waiting that her relatives called painful, her body was finally confirmed. Her brother Ikey Hedaya provided DNA samples and visited the site twice to view the search work.
“Whenever she encounters any difficulties, she always mentions God,” he said. “She reached a different level mentally, which allowed her to excel in all other areas.”
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Her brother said he was drawing strength from God, just as he saw his sister doing in difficult times.
Most of the collapsed area of Champlain Tower South by the sea on June 24 was swept away, and the rubble was moved to the Miami warehouse. Although forensic scientists are still working, including checking debris in the warehouse, the authorities said that no more bodies could be found where the building once stood.
Fire Chief Allen Kominsky said that in the end, the staff found no evidence that anyone who was found dead survived the initial collapse.
The search team spent several weeks battling the dangers of rubble, including shaky and unstable parts above buildings, recurring fires, and the suffocating summer heat and thunderstorms in Florida. They processed more than 14,000 tons (13,000 metric tons) of broken concrete and steel bars before finally announcing the completion of the mission.
The urban search and rescue team of the Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue Team left the scene on Friday in a convoy of firetruck and other vehicles and slowly drove towards their headquarters. The fire chief paid tribute to their bravery, saying that they worked 12-hour shifts while camping on site and had to deal with a heavy emotional burden.
Linda March is a 58-year-old lawyer and a former New Yorker who is a close friend of Hedaya. Strangely, these two people are the last three victims to be identified, as well as the 24-year-old Anastasia Gromova from Canada.
Leah Sutton (Leah Sutton) has known Hedaya since she was born and considers herself her second mother. She said that she and March are both “powers that cannot be ignored.”
“Two of my beautiful and fearless friends were left to the end and have to believe that they have a reason to be the last,” she said on Monday. “Ester’s love for God is incredible and unwavering.”
The dead included members of the large Orthodox Jewish community in the area, the sister of the Paraguayan first lady, her family and their nanny, as well as the local salesman, his wife and their two young daughters, 4 and 11 years old. In the family of four, who was buried in the same coffin.
At the same time, it is unclear what will happen to the collapse site. The judge who presided over several lawsuits filed after the collapse hoped to sell the property at market prices, which would bring an estimated $100 million or more. Some apartment owners want to rebuild, while others say a monument should be erected.
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