Search crews find body believed to be warehouse employee who went missing after roof collapse

PHOENIX (KTVK/KPHO/Gray News) - An intensive search and rescue operation ended in tragedy when a body believed to be that of a Phoenix warehouse employee was found. The employee went missing after the warehouse’s roof collapsed during monsoon storms.

Phoenix Fire Capt. Todd Keller said the body, believed to be that of 22-year-old Oswaldo Antonio Montoya Torres, was found early Saturday afternoon, during the third day of search efforts, AZ Family reports.

“A little after one o’clock, our crews identified a victim we believe to be Oswaldo,” Keller said, adding that police are working with the medical examiner to determine positive identification. “This is not the outcome we wanted.”

Torres went missing after a microburst hit west Phoenix around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. Winds up to 77 miles per hour left roofs torn off, buildings partially collapsed and dozens of trees uprooted. Among the buildings destroyed was a warehouse near 43rd Avenue and Van Buren Street, where family says Torres worked.

Torres was reportedly operating a forklift at the warehouse when the storm struck and was trapped under the wreckage after the roof collapsed.

“Oswaldo was a hard worker. He was working the night shift, just supporting his family, taking care of his loved ones,” Keller said. “He was an amazing man, a great dad, brother, son-in-law [and] son.”

As they searched, firefighters were using specially trained K-9s, drones and even heavy-duty cranes to safely move the rubble. The building was at risk of collapsing, making it challenging for rescue crews to get inside.

Keller says firefighters worked in 12-hour shifts removing slabs of concrete and debris. On Friday, he said crews removed over 40,000 pounds of concrete in an area where the body was later located.

AZ Family spoke with Torres’ sister, Judith Montoya, who says her family got a call that Torres was in the building at the time of the storm.

“My brother, we don’t know where he’s at. They don’t know where he’s at. They say their dogs are locating my brother,” Montoya previously told AZ Family. “We let them do their job. But as of right now, I’m just asking for people’s prayers... It’s just too much right now. It’s my baby brother.”

Montoya added that Torres and his partner just welcomed a baby boy into the world a few weeks ago.

Phoenix Fire is assisting Torres’ family during this difficult time.

“We are supporting them in every way. We will exhaust our resources to tend to their needs,” Keller said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with them.”

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