Crews finish tearing down house above sinkhole

The Seffner sinkhole that opened up Friday has been sealed with gravel, and the property has been fenced off.

It is now a permanent tomb for the 26-year-old man who died in there.

The foundation of the home was reduced to rubble Tuesday. Crews ripped apart the concrete foundation, which was the last evidence that a home once stood there.

Sinkhole experts say the hole was huge and the damage could have been even more catastrophic.

"In the back of the house, it was 65 feet before they hit something hard. We presume that's limestone. It might not be, but we presume it was limestone. And in the front of the house, it was about 57 feet down," said engineer Larry Madrid.

It has left neighbors uneasy, especially after a second sinkhole opened up on Monday about two miles away. That one is much smaller: five feet deep and 12 feet across.

Buddy Wicker, who owned the home for 39 years, showed photos that crews were able to salvage. Most of them are the only copies they had.

"It's hard. It's just amazing that we could recover this stuff, after they told us they couldn't guarantee us anything," he said.

There are photos of his late wife, Mary Leona, who died in 2005. They had been together for 43 years -- their first date was along the Alafia River. One of the salvaged photos is of their 25th wedding anniversary.

Wicker says he is thankful for the crews who worked the excavators like a masters, gingerly removing the photos as they then began to demolish the walls they once hung on.

"When you can take a boom like that and reach out 50 feet in front of you and peel a 1 x 6 off the wall and never break it," he said.

They are priceless mementos to a family who lost nearly everything. The house had been the gathering spot for every major family event.

"My home over there used to be the meeting place. We took pictures, we had family reunions, we had gatherings, we had baby showers," Wicker said.

He is heartbroken over Jeff's death.

"It's hard to believe something could happen like that with no warning or nothing," he says.

Now a fence surrounds the vacant property, and Wicker and his family are left to pick up the pieces that remain. He says the house was just four walls, and the pictures that are left mean everything.