Jeffrey Bush has been presumed dead since he disappeared over eleven years ago after being pulled down a massive 30-meter sinkhole that formed under his bedroom.
The 37-year-old man was in bed at his home in Seffner, Florida, at the time of the incident.
When Jeffrey’s brother Jeremy ran into the room on the fateful night of February 28, 2013, after hearing a loud crash, he saw a huge hole where his brother’s bed had been.
Jeremy climbed out to try and save his brother, thinking Jeffrey had fallen in, but he was nowhere to be seen, although he could be heard screaming.
A Tampa Police Department officer pulled Jeremy to safety as the ground continued to collapse beneath him and his frantic attempts to save his brother were unsuccessful.
“I didn’t care that the dirt kept falling and the floor kept giving way. At the time, Jeremy told The Guardian: “I wanted to save my brother. But I couldn’t do anything.
“I could have sworn I heard him scream my name to help him.
The bedroom had completely collapsed by the time rescuers arrived. “There was no furniture. A fire and rescue spokesman said: ‘All he saw was a piece of mattress sticking out.’
When the device was dropped into the sump, Jeffrey was nowhere to be seen. According to experts, the sinkhole was roughly 30 feet above the surface and 100 feet below.
Later, the brothers’ house was destroyed and covered with gravel.
For Jeremy and his family – including his wife and children who were present in the home when the sinkhole opened – the loss was devastating.
As for his child, “she keeps asking where her uncle Jeff is,” Jeremy noted. “I lost everything. I tried hard to provide for my wife and child, but I lost everything.
Officials walled off the area as a safety precaution after the hole reopened several years after Jeffrey disappeared.
About 27,000 diving incidents were reported in the state of Florida in 2022, based on data from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
The tragic story of Jeffrey Bush’s disappearance into the abyss has haunted his family for more than a decade, leaving behind an indelible trail of grief.
On that fateful night in February 2013, the sudden collapse of the ground beneath Jeffrey’s bedroom took not only Jeffrey’s life but also the sense of security his family had once known. Despite the desperate efforts of his brother Jeremy, who heard Jeffrey’s cries for help and tried to save him, the sheer force of the immersion swallowed up everything in his path, including hope.
The pain of losing a loved one in such a devastating and inexplicable way is unimaginable, especially when there was so little anyone could have done to prevent it. Jeremy’s emotional memories of hearing his brother scream his name are a heartbreaking reminder of the helplessness that comes with sudden, uncontrollable tragedies. The physical collapse of the house coupled with the loss of Jeffrey left an emotional void that his family still struggles with today.
For Jeremy, the loss was compounded by the effects it had on his family, especially his daughter, who keeps asking where her uncle is. The weight of this loss goes beyond the immediate tragedy of the sinking; it’s a sadness that ripples through the family, taking away a sense of normalcy and leaving unanswered questions behind.
Although officials took precautionary measures to close the site, the emotional devastation remains and the memory of that night will no doubt stay with Jeremy and his family for the rest of their lives. The incident is also a sobering reminder of Florida’s vulnerability to sinkholes, a natural disaster that continues to affect families across the state. For those directly affected, the question of “what could have been” lingers, and it has left a sad and lasting legacy.