Worker Still Missing After Phoenix Commercial Building Roof Collapses Amid Storms

Rescue efforts resumed Thursday morning.

PHOENIX — The search for 22-year-old Oswaldo Montoya is ongoing after a warehouse collapsed Wednesday night during severe weather.

Firefighters are currently avoiding entry into the unstable structure. The effort to locate Montoya restarted early Thursday morning.

“We will be out here for as long as it takes,” said Phoenix Fire Captain and Public Information Officer Todd Keller during a Thursday afternoon news conference.

Montoya, a new father, had been employed at the warehouse for about a year. At this time, Keller said it is uncertain if Montoya is still alive.

Search and rescue dogs, cameras, and drones have been deployed by Phoenix fire officials to find Montoya. Thursday afternoon, two rescue dogs alerted to the same location within the wreckage.

A secondary collapse remains a significant safety risk for rescuers, Keller explained. “Our first concern is the safety of our firefighters. We do know that someone is inside, so we are going to take our time,” Keller told 12News.

Keller highlighted the role of a specially trained rescue dog named Moxie, stating, “That dog will go inside and is trained to find people that are trapped, but right now the possibility of the other three walls collapsing is our main concern.”

12News crews have been moved to a safer distance due to the danger posed by the building’s instability.

The National Weather Service reported that storms in Phoenix generated winds up to 70 mph, suggesting a microburst caused the warehouse collapse.

Severe storms produced strong microbursts across Phoenix, with indications of wind gusts over 70 mph. The velocity loop from the TPHX radar showed several microburst signatures, as tweeted by NWS Phoenix.

This is a developing story. Stay with Arizonanews.org for updates.