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The search for the man, Jeff Bush, 37, was called off Saturday and demolition equipment was seen moving in on Sunday. The 20-foot-wide opening of the sinkhole is almost completely covered by the house and rescuers feared that it would collapse. Two neighboring homes have also been evacuated.

Heavy equipment, including a vehicle with a bucket scoop on a long arm, was on the street near the house Sunday morning. Family members gathered on lawn chairs, bundled up with blankets against unusually chilly weather. Several dozen people milled about within view, including officials and reporters.

The administrator of Hillsborough County Mike Merrill disclosed the plan hours earlier to raze the home. "At this point it's really not possible to recover the body," Mr. Merrill said, later adding "we're dealing with a very unusual sinkhole."

Jessica Damico, spokeswoman for the Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, said the demolition equipment would be positioned on what was believed to be solid ground and reach onto the property to pull apart the house. The crew was expected to try pulling part of the house away from the sinkhole intact so some of the residents' keepsakes can be retrieved.

Mr. Bush was in his bedroom Thursday night in Seffner — a suburb of 8,000 people 15 miles east of downtown Tampa — when the ground opened and took him and everything else in his room. Five others in the house escape unharmed.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is conducting the investigation. Police Detective Larry McKinnon said that sheriff's office and the county medical examiner cannot declare Mr. Bush dead if his body is still missing. Under Florida law, the family must petition a court to declare Mr. Bush deceased.

On Saturday, the normally quiet neighborhood of concrete block homes painted in Florida pastels was jammed with cars as onlookers converged on the scene.

At the home next door to the Bushes, a family cried and organized boxes. Testing had determined that the house and another had been compromised by the sinkhole. The families were allowed to go inside for about a half-hour to gather belongings.

Two sisters, Soliris and Elbairis Gonzalez, who live on the same street, said neighbors were worried for their safety.

"I've had nightmares," Soliris Gonzalez, 31, said. "In my dreams, I keep checking for cracks in the house."