MIAMI – Nearly a year after the Surfside condo collapse a grandson is reflecting after losing his grandmother, Hilda Noriega.
Hilda was the matriarch of the family and a woman who embraced her faith, freedom and family.
On Tuesday, her grandson Michael tells CBS 4 he sees life differently. He said, “with her being gone she’s just so sorely missed because there’s a big void of love that was constantly poured into my heart and my family’s heart on such a normal basis.”
Noriega tells us his grandmother was the 12th person to be identified. When they found her she was clinging to 6 rosaries. He said, “They told us “we want you to know that we found this on her”… And in the brown paper bag there were six rosaries.”
Noriega described the moment his dad called him early that morning to tell him what happened. His dad is currently the Chief of the North Bay Village Police Department. Noriega said he remembers his father over the phone saying, “Oh my gosh, the building is gone.”
Noriega tells us Hilda was living alone in the Champlain Towers South. She was 92 years old and full of life. Her grandson tells CBS 4, “She was such a generous person she was never stingy with her love. She lived for her faith, her family and her friends.”
Days after the building came down, Michael tells CBS4 his father found a birthday card in the debris near the collapse site. The card was to his mother from her friends. After that Michael tells CBS 4 they decided to keep searching. They ended up finding two photographs and a house blessing. Michael said, “Those items are now irreplaceable. Treasures that are invaluable to us.”
Now, nearly a year later Noriega tells CBS 4 he wants answers. But, would rather a full and thorough investigation to find out what cause part of the building to come down.
He said, “I think this entire process has been a process where we have been forced to be patient. So, we all want answers and I know that we will get them…and that alone is giving me peace.
Would I like to have those answers already? Absolutely. But, I would rather get the right answers over a longer process than wrong answers over a faster period of time.”
Noriega has been asked to be one of the main voices in an upcoming documentary highlighting the collapse. He is also writing his own book. Both projects he says are still in the early stages of production.