A Kenner native was in the Miami-area beachfront condominium building that collapsed this week, and her family continues to hope she will be found alive, our media partners at The New Orleans Advocate report.
40-year-old Cassondra "Cassie" Billedeau-Stratton was raised in Kenner but later moved to Colorado after getting married.
According to The New Orleans Advocate, Billedeau-Stratton was standing on a fourth-floor balcony at the building and was on the phone with her husband when she described seeing an outdoor swimming pool one level below her cave in, family friends said. The call then ended; there's been no sign of her since.
The death toll rose to five Saturday evening, as Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced the discovery of another body. The number of unaccounted for dropped to 156. Crews also discovered other unspecified human remains. A fire has spread amid the rubble, hampering rescue efforts.
Billedeau-Stratton's husband, Michael, told Denver television station KDVR that his wife was an actress, fashion model, and Pilates instructor.
Family friend Rebecca Schepler told The Advocate, "We are praying that everything is going to be OK. Cassie is a beautiful, beautiful girl, outside and inside."
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