Missing In Surfside Condo Collapse, 'Binx The Cat' Found Alive, Returned To Family

MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) - Officials announced Friday that a cat who lived on the ninth floor of the Champlain Towers was found safe and has been returned to its family.

Gina Nicole Vlasek, co-founder of The Kitty Campus, posted on Facebook that a black cat resembling Binx was found near the rubble of the Surfside building Thursday night and brought to the group's nearby facility in Miami Beach.

A former Champlain Towers South resident visited The Kitty Campus on Friday and confirmed that the feline was hers, Vlasek said.

"We are so grateful to be able to help in any small way," Vlasek wrote.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said during a news conference Friday evening that Binx was recognized by a volunteer who had been feeding cats near the collapsed building.

"I'm glad that this small miracle could bring some light into the lives of a grieving family today and could provide a bright spot for our whole community in the midst of this terrible tragedy," Levine Cava said.

The mayor said animal control workers are continuing to place live traps in the area in hopes of recovering pets that might have escaped the deadly collapse.

The 12-story building collapsed in the early morning hours of June 24. Officials have confirmed 79 people killed, with 61 still unaccounted for.

(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)