The grandson of a couple who has been missing since the collapse of their Miami condo has claimed that his family is still receiving calls from their landline.
As of this writing, the collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, has resulted in the confirmed deaths of five people, The Guardian reports. The number of people still unaccounted for still stands at 156.
Champlain Towers South collapsed at around 1:30AM on Thursday (June 24).
Now, the grandson of two of the building's residents has come forward to reveal that his family is still receiving calls from their phone - but rather than hearing the voices of his grandparents, the family only hears static.
Speaking to broadcaster WPLG Local 10 News, Jake Samuelson revealed that his family has received at least 16 calls from the landline of grandparents Arnie and Myriam Notkin.
Samuelson said that the first call came at 9:50PM on Thursday night, and it left the family with mixed emotions.
"We were all sitting there in the living room, my whole family, Diane, my mother, and we were just shocked and we kind of thought nothing of it because we answered, and it was static," he said.
After going to the reunification center, there was no news about Arnie and Myriam's whereabouts. However, the calls from their landline continued, with Jake's family receiving another 15.
Samuelson added: "We are trying to rationalize what is happening here, we are trying to get answers."
The family confirmed that the last call came on Friday night, and they did not receive any calls on Saturday.
Local 10 News reports that Myriam is a banker and real estate agent and Arnie is a beloved gym teacher. The outlet also states that its reporters attempted to call the number but only "got the sound of a busy signal".
After authorities told reporters that they are looking into the calls, Samuelson and his family want to know if other families affected by Thursday's tragedy have had the same experience.
North Miami Beach Commissioner Fortuna Smukler - who grew up Arnie and Myriam's daughters - also told Local 10 News that she received a call from their family asking for help. Smukler is now using her social media accounts to try and help locate Arnie and Myriam.
The Associated Press has reported today how the building was suffering from "major structural damage" and required extensive repairs, according to a 2018 engineering report.