LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- A Sunland Park man is dead after falling 30 feet at the construction site he was working in Las Cruces.

His name was Charles Saenz, but those who knew and loved him called him Tony.

Saenz fell Monday afternoon while working on the new theaters at the Mesilla Valley Mall.

No one ever expected to have to plan for Saenz's death as he was only 48-years old. His son working the same construction site saw as his father fell.

“Anthony was the last person actually to see him before they did transport him to a hospital in Las Cruces,” said Hector Martinez, Saenz’s nephew.

Family members said Saenz was well liked, and loved to work with steel.

“Recently he had come home and was trying to make things better for him and the family. Then this accident happened to happen,” said Martinez.

Police said they got the call just after one, and first responders rushed to get Saenz to safety.

“The Las Cruces Fire Department went in and administered first aid,” said Dan Trujillo, spokesman for the Fire Department.

OSHA was called in to determine what happened. One company with workers building the new federal courthouse building in Las Cruces said safety is always a concern when on the job site.

“That's the general safety rule that anything over 6 feet tall you have to be tied off,” said John Brattlof of White Construction.

White Construction touts its safety with a big sign near its site in central Las Cruces. He said their success is based on weekly safety education.

“We'll have a safety meeting every week which will be a quarter to a half hour. Safety meeting that we go through each week. We'll do training on different topics,” said Brattlof.

The family said this unexpected death came at a tough time as Saenz was building his a new house for a parent. The family is working on setting up a fund to help with burial costs which they said is expected to near $20,000.