An elderly retired Miami, Florida physical education teacher and his wife are among those still missing after the collapse of a 12-story condo tower in Surfside, near Miami, Florida on Thursday.
North Miami Beach Commissioner Fortuna Smukler wrote on Facebook that the parents of her childhood friends were missing after the building collapsed.
Smukler was childhood friends with the three daughters of building residents Myriam Caspi Notkin, 81, and Arnold Notkin, 87, who remains a popular figure with his former students who are devastated at the news that he and his wife are among the missing.
The couple lived on the third floor of the Champlain Towers South condo building.
Smukler told the Bradenton Herald that Arnold Notkin had trouble walking.
“At this point it would be a miracle ... we’re hoping for a miracle,” she said.
She told the news outlet that Arnold was a well liked physical education teacher in Miami Beach, dating back to the 1960s when he taught at Fienberg Elementary School in South Beach.
“Myriam Caspi Notkin and Arnie Notkin both live in the building in Surfside that collapsed today. If you have seen them, or have heard of their whereabouts, please let me know and I will get the information to Myriam’s daughters. We are desperately looking for them,” Smukler wrote.
Howard Cohen, a Miami Herald reporter who was a student in Arnold’s gym class at Fienberg in the late 1960s and early 1970s, wrote that 50 years later, he remained “grateful for the kindness and push Arnie showed a little misfit South Beach kid.”
“Sending out prayers and words of gratitude to the family of Arnie Notkin and his wife Myriam, who are among the missing (as of this posting) in today's devastating Surfside building collapse,” he stated.
“Arnie served as an example for years later on how to tap into a kid's talents and hone them. Among the lessons learned from some of my favorite Hurricanes swim coaches, I used some of Arnie's skills when I helped out as a swim coach for a time and taught swimming through the 1980s."
He added, "I'm sure I'm far from the only one among the thousands he must have led in PE classes in his time with the school who has such fond memories. I'll always be grateful… To Arnie's family: praying. And a big thank you for sharing ‘Mr. Notkin’ with so many South Beach youth.”
Another of the former teacher’s students, Diana Hernandez, 57, told the Herald that he was her favourite teacher because as a “girl jock” he encouraged her to be a “tomboy.”
She said she “wasn’t the best student because I always wanted to be out there playing... he was just so encouraging to all the kids.”
She added, “He just loved us.”
Hernandez has spoken to a few of the former teacher’s students. Everyone is very upset.
“Just hoping and praying some miracle happens and they’re able to be found,” she said.
The latest information released by town officials lists 4 dead and 159 unaccounted for. However, the situation was described as "fluid."