Search underway for grandmother who fell into giant sinkhole while looking for lost cat
Grandmother Elizabeth Pollard, 64, is believed to have fallen into the sinkhole shortly after she started searching the area for her missing cat, Pepper
Rescue teams in Pennsylvania are searching for a grandmother who may have plunged into a giant sinkhole above an abandoned mine while she was searching for her lost cat.
Emergency services worked through the night to find Elizabeth Pollard, 64, after she fell into a sinkhole in Unity Township in western Pennsylvania. Elizabeth's disappearance triggered a massive rescue effort with dozens of officers and firefighters taking part in the search.
State police said during a Tuesday press conference that rescuers had been unable to make contact with the grandmother some 24 hours after she first fell in. Rescue teams have entered the abandoned mine where she is believed to be.
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Elizabeth was last seen at about 5pm local time on Monday as she called out to her cat, Pepper. Family members then alerted police at about 1am the following day amid concerns she did not come home. Officers were seen searching in the area close to Monday's Restaurant in the township and located her car parked close by at about 3am.
As police walked around the vehicle, they found a sinkhole. State police believe that she might have fallen inside. The sinkhole is said to be about the size of a manhole and is about 30 feet deep. Police said it also leads to an old coal mine, KDKA News reports.
Trooper Stephen Limani of the Pennsylvania State Police said in a statement: "We also discovered there was a sinkhole; it was maybe 15-20 feet from the vehicle.
"It was about the size of a manhole cover but the pocket underneath is significantly larger, and trying to send cameras down there, we determined it's roughly about 30 feet before you see a lot of debris."
Trooper Limani noted that people inside the restaurant said the sinkhole opened up at around the time Elizabeth was searching for her pet.
He continued: "The sinkhole, it appears that it was most likely created during the time, unfortunately, that Mrs. Pollard was walking around.
"We don't see any evidence of any time where that hole would have been there prior to deciding to walk around and look for her cat." The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) said in a Tuesday statement that the Bureau of Mine Safety had been dispatched to the site to advise and offer support to local rescuers.
A DEP spokesperson said in a statement: "Upon initial review, DEP believes this subsidence feature to be the result of historic mining in the abandoned Marguerite Mine last operated by the H.C. Frick Coke Co. in 1952. The depth of cover from the surface to the Pittsburgh coal seam is approximately 20 feet in this area."
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