Body of grandmother who fell into Pennsylvania sinkhole recovered after dayslong search

(UNITY TOWNSHIP, Pa.) — The body of a missing grandmother who was swallowed by a sinkhole and fell into an abandoned coal mine in Pennsylvania was recovered Friday following a dayslong search, officials said.

Elizabeth Pollard, 64, was found in the mine Friday at approximately 10 a.m., Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson confirmed to ABC News. Her body will be transported to their facility for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death, he said.

The challenging excavation began Tuesday in Unity Township, about 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, after Pollard was reported missing by a family member. She had not been heard from after going out to search for her cat, police said.

The sinkhole is believed to be tied to the mine and formed while Pollard was walking in the area looking for her cat, officials said.

The dangerous search effort shifted to a recovery mission on Wednesday, when authorities surmised it was unlikely Pollard could still be alive based on the conditions underground, including oxygen levels. Search efforts had also not found any sign of life, according to Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Steve Limani, who said at the time it would be a “miracle” to find Pollard alive.

Despite the difficulties posed by the search, including the amount of dirt and unstable conditions of the mine, Limani said they would not stop searching until they found Pollard.

“I know we had a lot of hopes,” Limani said during a press briefing Wednesday evening, calling the development “difficult.”

Authorities said Thursday evening that they believed the excavator had reached the area where Pollard ended up.

Pollard was last seen Monday evening, police said. A couple hours after she was reported missing, her vehicle was located shortly before 3 a.m. Tuesday with her 5-year-old granddaughter safe inside, though Pollard was nowhere to be seen, police said.

While searching for Pollard in the area, troopers found an apparent sinkhole with an opening about the “size of a manhole” 15 to 20 feet away from the vehicle, according to Limani.

Local firefighters, a technical rescue team and the state’s Bureau of Mine Safety worked alongside an excavation team to remove dirt to access the sinkhole.

Search crews were able to make entry into the mine area amid the search, though the integrity of the mine was compromised by the water used to break up the ground, Limani said. Parts of the mine started to buckle and collapse, he said.

Crews stopped accessing the mine on Wednesday due to the danger of collapse, with the search effort shifting to cameras.

Amid the search for Pollard, Limani told reporters Thursday that they have not found her cat, Pepper. Pollard’s family also has not seen the cat, he said.

The area where the sinkhole formed has a “very thin layer of earth” and appears to have been deteriorating “for a long time,” Limani said.

Authorities were mapping other depressions in the area to prevent future accidents.

“People down here should be not afraid to walk around in their yards,” Limani said.

The mine last operated in 1952, according to the state’s Department of Environmental Protection. The depth to the coal seam in this area is approximately 20 feet, a department spokesperson said.

Once the scene is clear, the department will investigate the site “to determine if this issue is the result of historic mine subsidence,” the spokesperson said.

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