A Photo Shows Officer's Heroism

By Melanie Lefkowitz | STAFF WRITER

September 22, 2001

The last time Carmen Suarez saw her husband in person was when he left

for work on Sept. 11 at 6:30a.m.

Days later - after she had already received the devastating news that Transit Police Officer Ramon Suarez was one of the missing rescuers -

she saw him again: in a published news photograph, rescuing a distraught woman from a building that was about to collapse.

"It just shows that he was truly a hero," said Valerie Ortiz, a close friend who lives next door to the Suarez family in Ridgewood.

She added: "Like we all already knew that he is."

After that photo was taken, Suarez rushed back into Tower Two, police have said.

The building crashed down around him.

Suarez, 45, a police officer since 1997 and a father of three with one grandchild, has not been found.

"We had no idea that he was one of the missing,"

said Ortiz, who works near Carmen Suarez in midtown Manhattan. The two women walked over the 59th Street Bridge together, picked up their daughters at school, and walked home.

While Ortiz was out, police delivered Suarez the news.

"They called her, and they asked if he had called, and she said no, and they said, 'Well, we think he's missing,'" Ortiz said. "When I came home, she was hysterical."

In addition to his work as a police officer, Suarez coached his daughter's track team, Ortiz said.

"He was wonderful with the children. He was a great friend to all of us," she said. "He's just the kind of guy that you always want around and he took his time, coaching those kids."

Until she hears officially that her husband is dead, Carmen Suarez has continued hoping, Ortiz said. She has stopped watching television and reading the papers while she waits for the telephone to ring, Ortiz said.

"I feel so terrible for the family. You look at their faces and they're heartbroken," she said. "It breaks your heart, because you know that their love for each other is just so strong. You can't stand to see that."