The Associated Press//June 8, 2023//

By Charlie Neibergall, Scott McFetridge and Hannah Fingerhut
The Associated Press
DAVENPORT, Iowa 鈥 The bodies of three men were removed from the rubble of a six-story apartment building about a week after a portion of the 116-year-old structure tumbled to the ground, the city of Davenport鈥檚 police chief announced Monday.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have any other information at this time that there are any additional people missing,鈥 Chief Jeff Bladel said.
Meanwhile, building residents have started filing lawsuits.
A so she could be freed聽from the rubble filed a lawsuit with her wife Wednesday, accusing the city and the building鈥檚 owner for 鈥渨illful and wanton disregard鈥 for their safety.
Quanishia 鈥淧each鈥 Berry and her wife, Lexus, were home in their fourth-floor apartment May 28 when the west side of the building crumbled. Lexus Berry was able to evacuate, but rescuers needed hours to find Peach Berry trapped in the debris and then perform the amputation.
The couple seeks unspecified damages to compensate for the medical bills, emotional distress and lost wages, according to the filing.
A lawsuit filed Monday by Dayna Feuerbach is accusing the city and the building’s current and former owners of knowing of the deteriorating conditions and failing to warn residents of the risk. Another lawsuit, filed by Mildred Harrington against the building鈥檚 owner alone, alleges the same.
Feuerbach鈥檚 lawsuit alleges multiple counts of negligence, and both actions seek unspecified damages.
鈥淭he city had warning after warning,鈥 attorney Jeffrey Goodman, who represents Feuerbach, told The Associated Press. He called it a common trend in major structural collapses he鈥檚 seen. 鈥淭hey had the responsibility to make sure that the safety of the citizens comes first. It is very clear that the city of Davenport didn鈥檛 do that.鈥
, released last week and cited in the lawsuits, suggest were conveyed to the owner, Andrew Wold, and the city over the course of months.
A recording of a 911 call placed the day before the partial collapse reveals the director of a local organization affiliated with the chamber of commerce reported a contractor鈥檚 concerns about a wall鈥檚 integrity. City fire officials responded by visiting the site for less than five minutes, according to the dispatch log.
The police chief said the body of Branden Colvin Sr., 42, was recovered Saturday. The body of Ryan Hitchcock, 51, was recovered Sunday and the body of Daniel Prien, 60, early Monday.
The聽apartment building鈥檚 remains were constantly in motion in the , putting .
Efforts now have shifted to removing debris and dismantling the structure. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Wednesday asked the White House for reimbursement for the response and assistance with demolition of the remaining structure. She toured the site on Monday and received a briefing from city officials.
Reynolds鈥 letter to President Joe Biden asserts that the partial collapse 鈥渋s of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capability of the State and the affected local governments.鈥 The emergency response is estimated to be at least $5 million, according to the governor鈥檚 request.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

There will be no federal investigation of the collapse. The National Institute of Standards and Technology investigates some, but only when the findings could lead to recommendations that would reduce the risk of future disasters. The Davenport building is simply too old for an investigation to lead to things like building code updates, stated Jennifer Huergo, a spokeswoman for the agency.
Davenport officials earlier said they were working to ensure that Wold would be billed for demolition costs.
Wold on May 30 released a statement that 鈥渙ur thoughts and prayers are with our tenants.鈥 He has made no statement since, and efforts to reach him, his company and a man believed to be his attorney have been unsuccessful.
County records show Davenport Hotel LLC acquired the building in a 2021 deal worth $4.2 million. The building, constructed as a hotel in 1907, had been converted into about 80 apartment units.
Bladel said the Davenport fire marshal鈥檚 office had begun an investigation of the partial collapse with help from the state Division of Criminal Investigation, Davenport police and the medical examiner鈥檚 office.
The state earlier made $5,000 available to displaced tenants who met income requirements, and the city offered $6,000 to the people forced from their homes. On Monday, the governor also waived the fees for tenants who needed to replace their driver鈥檚 licenses.
Scott County prosecutor Kelly Cunningham last week cautioned against assuming a criminal prosecution is appropriate, saying an independent investigation needs to be conducted into the cause of the building鈥檚 structural failure, and right now it鈥檚 in the city鈥檚 jurisdiction.
Unresolved questions include聽why neither the owner nor city officials warned residents about potential danger.聽A structural engineer鈥檚 report issued days before the partial collapse indicated a building wall was at imminent risk of crumbling.
The lawsuit filed Monday also names two companies hired by Wold, including the structural engineer鈥檚 firm, to assess and perform work on the building. The suit alleges all parties 鈥渞ecognized the imminent danger residents faced, yet allowed the building to deteriorate while failing to warn residents that their lives were in danger.鈥
The engineering firm has 鈥渁n affirmative responsibility to sound the alarm of urgency and take all steps they can to make sure this building is evacuated for safety,鈥 Goodman said. 鈥淲e see their role in this tragedy to be unfortunately central.鈥
Tenants also complained to the city in recent years about a host of problems they say were ignored by property managers, including no heat or hot water for weeks or even months at a time, as well as mold and water leakage from ceilings and toilets. While city officials tried to address some complaints and gave vacate orders to individual apartments, a broader evacuation was never ordered, records show.
Current and former residents told The Associated Press about interior cracks on the wall that ultimately collapsed that were reported to building management.
Editor鈥檚 note: McFetridge and Fingerhut reported from Des Moines. AP writer Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas, contributed to this report.