Danielle Ferguson

dbferguson@argusleader.com

Sioux Falls emergency manager Regan Smith was surveying the site of Friday's downtown building collapse Sunday afternoon when something faint caught his ear.

"Did you hear that?," Smith said, turning to a city engineer who was at the site with him.

It sounded like barking.

They called a search and rescue team, and then called the family that lived in the upstairs apartment before the collapse.

Then they started calling for Molly.

After about 20 minutes of carefully removing debris, crews found the beagle under a mattress, alive more than 48 hours later.

Workers and bystanders cheered as firefighters lifted the dog from the debris and carried her to her family for an emotional reunion.

Sioux Falls Police tweeted that the dog was in good condition. After hugs from her owners, she was taken from the scene by an animal control officer.

Five-year-old Nathaniel Peterson was among the people who eagerly watched Sunday's search-and-rescue mission.

"I was so happy (they found the dog)," Peterson said. "I clapped and cheered."

The dog was found not far from where rescue workers two days earlier saved Emily Fodness, a 22-year-old woman who was in the upstairs apartment with her family's three dogs. She was in good condition after her rescue and was released from the hospital on Sunday. The other two dogs were rescued Friday.

A construction worker who was also inside the building was killed in the collapse, which happened about 10:30 a.m. Friday. A memorial was created for Ethan McMahon at a coffee shop across the street from the site.

The dog's rescue was a silver lining for first responders, Smith said. Crews worked on addressing clean up and safety concerns day and night throughout the weekend. Attention shifted late Saturday after a large hole opened in the side of an adjacent building. PAve nightclub was already closed because of structural concerns.

Police monitoring the site heard a loud noise and discovered the hole around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Smith said. No one was injured. Crews attempted to shore up the PAve building Friday to keep it from collapsing on first responders, but part of the supports failed on the south wall.

On Sunday afternoon, city engineers were on the scene to asses the damage and structural integrity of the building. Smith said the city was continuing to work with the property owners on a demolition plan for what was left of the former Copper Lounge building.

Phillips Avenue between 8th and 11th streets and 10th Street between 2nd and Main avenue remained closed. Smith said he wasn't sure when they would reopen.

Most downtown businesses were open normal hours over the weekend but a few on the same block of Phillips Avenue chose to stay closed while crews continued to work. Half Baked bakery, 605 Running Company, and Urban Archaeology were closed.

Greg Koch, the general manager at 605 Running Company, said businesses were allowed to return to the building but chose to stay out for now.

“We want to allow the first responders and people on the scene an area to work,” he said. “The situation is unprecedented and fluid. We’re just erring on the side of caution.”

The Phillips Avenue Diner was open. It was among several downtown businesses that offered its restrooms and coffee to the approximately 200 first responders who helped with the initial rescue. Manager Suzann Patenode said customers came in asking to buy food to bring out to responders and volunteers.

"It's so nice to see the businesses come together," Patenode said. "We take care of our people."

President of Bender Midwest Properties Jill Madsen, said she walked through the building Sunday afternoon with Apex Structural Design, LLC President Trent Nelson along with insurance representatives and Sioux Falls Fire Rescue to assess the damage.

“They said our building is structurally sound but advised that we should not be in the building as long as they work on the south wall of PAve,” she said.

Madsen was given the rough estimate of a couple of days before tenants should resume business.

“It’s stressful, especially for our retail tenants in their busy time of the year,” she said.

Aside from PAve’s south wall, Madsen said it was hard to see if there was any new damage.

“In our building, we’ve seen a few sheetrock cracks, but it’s an old building,” she said. “There’s always the question of if it was there before.”

GoFundMe pages created for victim families have garnered thousands and thousands of dollars to help one family rebuild a home and help another pay for a funeral.

Along with a memorial for McMahon in the corner windows of Coffea Roasterie, flowers were tied to barricades and statues surrounding the crumbled building.

Jodie Haack brought her grandchildren to the scene Sunday and happened to be there when firefighters rescued the third dog.

"We went to church this morning, prayed for these families, and to see this was amazing," Haack said. "Something that is such a tragedy, this is a good thing."

More information is expected Monday at the Sioux Falls Police Department's regular 10:30 a.m. media briefing. Watch it live at argusleader.com.

- Micah Bader contributed to this story.