MU graduate who lost belongings in Iowa building collapse reunited with cat, grateful for help

By Stephanie Southey

Click here for updates on this story

    DAVENPORT, Iowa (KOMU) — A recent MU graduate says she has lost all of her belongings after her apartment building in Davenport, Iowa, partially collapsed over the weekend.

Elizabeth Pruitt, who graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism three weeks ago, moved into the apartment building at 324 Main Street just one day before it partially collapsed Sunday afternoon.

“This was my first apartment after graduating from the University of Missouri. I moved in on Saturday, the day before it happened,” Pruitt said.

Three people remain unaccounted for after the back portion of the six-story building collapsed, according to CNN.

The debris from the collapse is currently helping to hold the building up, CNN reported, but the stability of the building continues to degrade.

One very big thing was missing though, Pruitt’s cat, Lulu.

A coworker called Pruitt and told her that two cats were being removed from the rubble Tuesday. Just after she got off the phone, she received a text from the Scott County Humane Society.

“It was a longer message, but all I read was, ‘We have Lulu,’ and I just started crying,” Pruitt said.

Pruitt said she still had some doubts about whether or not it was her cat. But the moment she saw the cat, she said she knew it was Lulu, and a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders.

“I knew it was her as soon as I saw her,” Pruitt said. “She was scared, as she should be, but I picked her up and held her on my shoulder.”

She told the Quad-City Times she was continuing to process what happened, but mostly she is concerned for the safety of others.

“I still think it’s good that they’re going to tear it down, because it is structurally unsafe, obviously, but there are people in there,” Pruitt told the Quad-City Times. “My stuff is just stuff. There are memories with it, but most of that I can get back.”

Pruitt said she’s received a ton of support, from Davenport local and from people back in Columbia.

“There’s been a ton of people reaching out to me from the [Columbia] Missourian and Mizzou, just seeing if there’s anything they can do to help,” Pruitt said.

Pruitt also received help from a coworker who she has never met in person. Gretchen Teske, a business reporter at the Quad-City Times, was reporting on the incident when she figured out one of the people who lived in the building, was Pruitt.

Teske didn’t think twice about helping Pruitt during this difficult time.

“We’ve all been that broke intern that comes to town and needs help,” Teske said. “Whether it be to offer a meal or a place to stay, it’s the least I can do.”

Although Teske and Pruitt finally just met, Teske praised Pruitt’s strength during this difficult time.

“Elizabeth is an incredibly strong and brave person,” Teske said. “To go through this and still decide to stay here in Davenport and see things through after losing everything, it’s really incredible to see.”

Pruitt is from Lebanon, Missouri, which is a six-hour drive from Davenport.

Pruitt started a GoFundMe to help replace the items and mementos she lost, as well as find a new place to call home as she begins her photo-journalism internship for the Quad-City Times/Dispatch-Argus. If you wish to donate to others effected by the collapse, a list of GoFundMe’s are listed here.

The fund surpassed its $5,000 goal as of Wednesday night. Pruitt said the support has been overwhelming.

“I’m getting way more support than I ever thought I would, and it’s a little crazy to me,” Pruitt said. “In my social life I’ve never been the most popular person ever, and right now I’m the most popular person in my community.”

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.