Monday June 5, 2023 Davenport City Officials Shift to “Under Investigation Can’t Answer Questions Mode” on The Davenport Building Collapse

This podcast is the ten-minute news conference held Monday, June 5, 2023 around 10AM. Only once was the Saturday before the collapse 911 call mentioned, and then only fleetingly, as if an afterthought. Andrew Wold, the owner of The Davenport Hotel, had to be brought up by a reporter, and might otherwise have gone unmentioned throughout the conference. Mayor Mike Matson expressed his sympathies with everyone what was touched by the May 28 partial collapse of The Davenport Hotel. He thanked Chief Rick Halleran of the Iowa Task Force 1, Urban Search and Rescue, based out of Cedar Rapids, for his team’s work, then ceded the mic to him for his update. Chief Halleran said he and his team “had the good fortune of. . . giving some closure to some families” — particularly, those of Branden Colvin Sr, Ryan Hitchcock, and Daniel Prien, whose remains were recovered from the site. He said the conditions of the site still remained fluid, but he had hopes that the operation had entered into clean-up mode Davenport Police Chief Jeff Bladel gave his perspective. He cited the progress made within the past 48 hours and confirmed the individuals recovered as Colvin Sr, who was found at 11:59AM, Saturday, June 3 and thereafter ID’d by forensics; Hitchcock, Sunday, June 4, at 12:25PM; and Prien, Monday, June 5, 2:30AM. He said he had been in contact with Branden and Ryan’s families throughout the weekend with updates. “We don’t have any other information at this time,” he said, “that there is additional people missing and/or related to this incident.” Chief Bladel continued, “as with such an event, and with, as you can imagine, the complexities of an investigation, an investigation is initiated through our city fire marshal’s office. We have resources on the ground to assist from the Division of Criminal Investigations, or DCI. The Davenport Police Department’s investigation team is also assisting with the investigation as well as the Medical Examiner’s office. . . As complexity continues, if additional subject matter actually related to this are needed, they will be brought in, and the investigation will continue. This is an active investigation, so details will be released when we can provide additional information. “So far, our community has rallied around [the families of the deceased]. Continue to honor the families; continue to respect the families in what we do and how we act accordingly, and keep them in your thoughts and prayers.” Chief Bladel then ceded the mic to the Northwest Illinois Incident Management Team Chief Brian VanVickle. According to Chief VanVickle, his agency was contacted late last week by the City of Davenport through the Scott County Emergency Management Agency to assist in rescue/recovery efforts. “Since we’ve been on the ground last week,” he continued, “our primary objectives have been overall site-safety, for not only the first-responders and contractors, but [residents in the area], through dust and debris removal. Additionally, we’ve been tasked with overall operational picture — that’s combining the public and private contractors. . . we’re also coordinating all of the logistics that are requested to come on the scene.” Chief VanVickle said his agency would continue to remain on site to support the overall effort throughout the week. Mayor Matson returned to the mic and said he’d take a couple questions after making a couple quick statements, as he had to go brief Governor Kim Reynolds, who had arrived to tour the collapse site. “There have been inquiries regarding the 911 call that was placed on Saturday. I want to ensure the public that we are looking into this. Right now, as I’m sure you can understand, our focus has been on the families of the victims and the ongoing recovering efforts. Our focus is still on recovery, but, as you heard, there is a potential for transition: Workers — and I can’t thank them enough again — going meticulously through all of the m