The surviving members of a family who lived in the stricken Champlain Towers South condo have been reunited with their missing cat, in what has been described as a "small miracle".
The Gonzalez family had resided on the ninth floor of the doomed Miami condo prior to its sudden collapse in the early hours of June 24. Per CBS News, at least two members of the family were seriously injured, and one is still missed following the collapse. A number of the family's pets had also gone missing after the tragedy.
However, two weeks after the collapse of the 12-story building, the Gonzalez has been reunited with their small black cat, Binx.
Commenting on the touching reunited, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said: "I'm glad that this small miracle could bring some light into the lives of a grieving family today and could provide a bright spot for our whole community in the midst of this terrible tragedy."
A local animal shelter called The Kitty Campus had shared several posts about the family's missing pets on their Facebook page.
Sadly, the family has still yet to receive any news on their other missing cat, name Hippo, and their two dogs, Daisy and Honesty.
Mayor Levine Cava told reporters on Friday that Binx was discovered near the rubble of the condo by a volunteer who was feeding stray cats. After recognizing Binx, the volunteer brought the lost cat to The Kitty Campus shelter.
The next day, one of Binx's owners was able to come and properly identify him and take him back to be with the family.
Per CBS, Tayler Gonzalez - who was not in the building at the time of the collapse - said she felt "a little bit of relief and shocked" after reuniting with Binx.
"We already had a feeling that if one of our animals were to make it, it would be him," she added. "I'm happy. It's been a very long journey in the past two weeks."
One of the The Kitty Campus' co-founders, Gina Vlasek, wrote on Facebook that the family's reunion should should serve as a reminder to "never, ever, ever give up hope."
"For now we will only share the cats story as a little inspiration and a glimmer of hope for our South Florida Community.
"We remind you the pets missing from this building could still be out there… we must keep looking and helping these families however we can," the shelter wrote on Facebook.
As reported by CBS, Tayler's 16-year-old sister, Deven, and their mother, Angela, were fotunately rescued from the condo after falling to the fifth floor.
Tayler's father, Edgar, did not make it out of the building.
