Florida Sinkhole: Search Is Called Off

The search for the man lost in a Florida sinkhole has been called off.

The search is over. The body of Jeff Bush has not been found in the sinkhole that swallowed him alive. Workers are unable to determine how far down the sinkhole drops.

Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill says rescuers have given up, and plans are in motion on Sunday to begin demolishing Jeff Bush’s four-bedroom home. According to Yahoo News, Mike Merrill adds:

“At this point it’s really not possible to recover the body. We’re dealing with a very unusual sinkhole.”

Jeff Bush, 37, was in his bedroom Thursday night in Seffner, when the ground beneath him took him and his room below. Five others in the house emerged unharmed.

The family, now living next door, wept for the loss of their loved one. Rescuers gave the Bush household 30 minutes Friday to go back in the house and retrieve their belongings, but the house itself was condemned.

Soliris Gonzales, who lives down the street from the Bushes with her sister Elbairis, said:

“I’ve had nightmares. In my dreams, I keep checking for cracks in the house. … The rest of it, this is material stuff, as long as our family is fine.”

Sandy Nettles, the owner of a geology consulting company in the Tampa area, said concerning sinkholes:

“There’s hardly a place in Florida that’s immune to sinkholes. There’s no way of ever predicting where a sinkhole is going to occur. The condition that caused that sinkhole could have started a million years ago.”

Jeremy Bush had tried to rescue his brother Jeff. Saturday morning he lay flowers and a stuffed lamb near the house and wept. On Friday, according to Dallas News, he said:

“And a couple of months later, my brother dies. In a sinkhole.”

How do you feel about the search for Jeff Bush, who fell into the Florida sinkhole, being called off?

Search for Jeff Bush, man swallowed by sinkhole in Florida, is called off. on.cnn.com/Y55F3f

— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) March 2, 2013