LANCASTER, MO. -- The task to hunt down the owners of a collapsed building continues.

Saturday night between 9:30 and 10:00 this building on the northwest corner of the Lancaster square crumbled to pieces.  The owner of the building is still unknown at this point.  Five years ago the building was sold at a third tax sale. The collector submitted a deed to the man but it was never recorded.

That man is deceased so the building may be deeded to his heirs.

Officials are trying to contact those heirs to see if they’re interested in the lot.  Before it fell-in there was interest in demolishing the building and making use of the lot.

“There were a couple of different people that were interested in purchasing it; for instance the church, as a parking lot.  But now that it’s fallen in we’re not positive that they will want it.  It’s still up in the air actual, who the actual owner is of the property,” said Schuyler County Prosecutor Brenda Swedberg-Bruner.

Because of that, cleaning up the mess has been stalled until the owner is tracked down.

Grant funds are available to help make the lot usable.  But it’s a matching grant so someone must come forward to claim the property.

Reporter asks, “Say nobody comes forward, these heris don’t want it, where do you go from there?”

“Then we go back to researching and see if we can find out if it is the city’s responsibility or the county’s.  It does sit within the city limits,” said Swedberg-Bruner.