CICERO, Ill. (WLS) — A family member is missing after a deadly Cicero house explosion destroyed a couple’s home on their wedding day.
Shortly after exchanging vows, Tom Davis and Eleni Vrettos were inundated with phone calls informing them that their residence on Central Avenue had been completely destroyed over the weekend.
Officials say the explosion caused the neighboring building to catch fire, leaving a total of 11 families displaced.
On Tuesday, family members told ABC7 a wedding guest has been missing since the explosion.
Anthony Avila-Puebla told relatives he was going to the house to get a phone charger. He left before the ceremony and has not been back since.
He was wearing a black suit, purple shirt and purple tie.
Cicero police told ABC7 that one person was found dead at the home. Davis says they do not know who that person was.
The video in the player above is from an earlier report.
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Davis said their six cats were at home at the time and are still missing.
The couple says what now amounts to rubble was supposed to be the home they would start their new lives in.
Explaining the situation, Davis mentioned, “We were in the process of renovating the property. Our plan was to convert the lower part into a commercial space that we could rent out, possibly as a storage facility, while we resided on the upper floor.”
As the community jumps into help, raising over $28,000 for the couple through a GoFundMe, Vrettos is grieving the very home she grew up in.
Reflecting on the loss, Vrettos shared, “My family had owned the building for nearly four decades. I have spent my whole life here – growing up, living, and working in this neighborhood. Cicero has always been my home, and the community means everything to me.”
Cicero police have yet to identify the victim in this case, and no one has been allowed on the property, because this is still an active investigation.
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