IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Miami man anxiously awaits word on mother, grandmother missing in condo collapse

“Everyone is praying for a miracle but with every passing hour, it gets less," said Paul Rodriguez, of Miami.
Get more newsLiveon

SURFSIDE, Fla. — Elena Blasser had her Thursday all planned out. First, she would leave to pick up her 6-year-old grandson for lunch and later buy him a new bicycle.

She never had the chance to do either.

Pablo Rodriguez, 40, said his 64-year-old mother, Blasser, and his 87-year-old grandmother, Elena Chavez, are among the 159 unaccounted for in the high-rise building collapse near Miami Beach.

Blasser and Chavez live in Miami but were spending the week at the unit they owned in Surfside.

“Everyone is praying for a miracle but with every passing hour, it gets less," said Rodriguez, a Miami resident.

Image: Elena Blasser, right, and Elena Chavez
Pablo Rodriguez's son, John Paul Rodriguez, sits with his grandmother, Elena Blasser, right, and his great-grandmother, Elena Chavez. Elena Blasser and Elena Chavez have gone missing from the Surfside building in Florida.Courtesy Pablo Rodriguez

Authorities have not determined what caused the building to collapse, leaving four people dead, so far, and 11 injured. President Joe Biden approved federal aid to help support state and local rescue efforts.

“I’m staying strong for my son and living day by day,” Rodriguez said Friday afternoon about 6-year-old John Paul Rodriguez.

He said his mother, who is retired, and grandmother, who still works as a travel agent, were in the tower that collapsed, and the second building toppled onto it.

“We came over here because there was complete chaos. Nobody knew what was going on or what we needed to do,” Rodriguez said about gathering information about his loved ones.

Walking back to the Grand Beach Hotel in Surfside, where many family members and friends of those missing had gathered, he spoke about their mother-and-son bond.

Image: Miami resident Pablo Rodriguez
Miami resident Pablo Rodriguez, 40, says his mother and grandmother have gone missing from a Surfside building that collapsed on Thursday.Deon J. Hampton / NBC News

They spoke daily, including the night before she went missing, about life, spending time with loved ones and travel.

“You can’t process this. It’s devastating, and then you have brief periods of disbelief,” Rodriguez said, adding that his brother is flying down from Washington, D.C., to join him. “We’re extremely close. Family means everything.”

Just last weekend, they were all vacationing in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

During the trip, the family ate Philly cheesesteaks from Geno’s Steaks and took in the Benjamin Franklin Museum.

“Tomorrow is going to be hard when she doesn’t come pick up my son,” said Rodriguez's wife, Vivian Lasaga, 40.

She said her mother-in-law is someone she can depend on, and the two often cook dinner for each other.

Lasaga said at least three other families from her church were in the building.

Image: Elena Blasser and Elena Chavez
Elena Blasser, left, and Elena Chavez, center, have gone missing from the Surfside building in Florida. Pictured are Pablo Rodriguez with his mom and grandma, and his son, John Paul Rodriguez.Courtesy Pablo Rodriguez

Earlier Friday, Rodriguez and others were at the Surfside community center registering personal information and providing DNA swabs in case authorities need to identify remains.

At least 100 volunteers passed out food and water. Some people cried and hugged, worried about the unknown.

“I’m trying to keep hope,” Rodriguez said.