The grandson of an elderly couple that are amongst the missing after Champlain Towers in Miami collapsed on Thursday says he and his family have received 16 calls from their landline since the tragedy, but hear only static when they pick up the phone.
Jake Samuelson claims to have received the first call on Thursday at around 09:50pm, before receiving 15 calls the following day from the number of his grandparents.
87-year-old Arnie and 81-year-old Miriam Notkin are amongst the 156 people who are still missing after the collapse of the condo block in Florida.
At least nine people have so far been confirmed dead after the south block of Champlain Towers, in the Miami suburb of Surfside, collapsed.
Jake said: "We were just shocked, and we kind of thought nothing of it because we answered, and it was static,"
On Friday morning, Jake and his family headed for the reunification centre to try to ascertain what had happened to his grandparents, but they'd already had 16 calls from the number within the tower.
He told WPLG: "We are trying to rationalize what is happening here, we are trying to get answers."
As of Friday afternoon, the calls had stopped and nothing but a busy signal could be heard upon attempting to reach the number.
The family has asked a detective to get to the bottom of why the calls were coming through, but have yet to receive an explanation.
Miriam Notkin was a former banker and real estate agent, whereas Arnie was a PE teacher and coach of a local junior football team.
According to the Miami Herald, Arnie taught at a nearby school during the 1960s and 1970s.
Three days on from the incident, the death toll continues to grow.
In a news conference on Sunday afternoon, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters that more bodies had been pulled from the wreckage, and one of those who had been pulled alive had died in hospital.
She said: "As of today, one victim passed away in the hospital, and we've recovered eight more victims on-site, so I am confirming today that the death toll is at nine.
"My deepest condolences to the friends, the families, the communities of those who lost their lives."
The names of five of the dead have yet to be announced, pictures and names of the other four victims so far have been released.
Cava continued: "We are making every effort to identify those others who have been recovered, and additionally, contacting their family members as soon as we are able."
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