The search for the grandmother believed to have fallen into a massive sinkhole continued Wednesday as Pennsylvania authorities encountered unstable parts of the abandoned mine beneath the sinkhole.
Elizabeth Pollard, 64, was looking for her lost cat Pepper when she disappeared Margaret, Pennsylvania, on December 2. She parked at a local restaurant with her five-year-old granddaughter in the car at the time.
Marguerite, a sparsely populated village, is vulnerable to sinkholes due to past mining activities. Authorities believe Pollard fell in the first case Margaretha Mine, which last operated in 1952.
The search intensifies for the missing Pennsylvania grandmother suspected of falling into a sinkhole (Reuters)
Crews determined that parts of the abandoned coal mine were too unstable to safely search for Pollard, but still expressed hope that the 64-year-old grandmother would be found alive.
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On Wednesday, Pleasant Unity Fire Chief John Bacha said crews reached the spot where Pollard is believed to have fallen but found no trace of her.
Bacha, the mission’s operations officer, said the mud may have displaced her elsewhere in the mine.
‘We did get where we wanted, where we thought she was. We went to that place,” Bacha explained. ‘I don’t know what happened at that moment, maybe the mud mud pushed her in one direction. There were several seams of that mine, shafts that all came together where this happened.”
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Authorities hope Pollard is still alive, although circumstances are mixed. Although nighttime temperatures dropped to freezing early this week, officials have said parts of the sinkhole still have adequate oxygen levels.
“All oxygen levels were perfect,” Bacha told KDKA on Tuesday. “No carbon monoxide, no explosive gases, nothing.”
“The atmosphere was perfect at this point, so we still have some hope that there is a void and that we can get there.”
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On Tuesday, December 3, 2024, the Pennsylvania State Police image shows the top of a sinkhole in the village of Marguerite, Pennsylvania, where rescuers were searching for a missing woman. (Pennsylvania State Police via AP)
Authorities are actively investigating the incident. No additional details are known at this time.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
