Missing grandmother ‘swallowed by sinkhole’ while searching for beloved cat – but family hope ‘she’s still down there’
A grandma who is thought to have fallen down a sinkhole while looking for her cherished pet cat is still being sought after in a URGENT hunt.
Concerns grew after 64-year-old Elizabeth Pollard was reported missing early on Tuesday, December 3, after she slipped into an abandoned coal mine near her home.
The abandoned mine in Unity Township, Pennsylvania, is too unstable for authorities to continue conducting safe subterranean searches, they have warned.
About two hours after Pollard’s disappearance, her automobile and her unhurt five-year-old kid were discovered.
About 40 miles east of Pittsburgh, in the community of Marguerite, is where the sinkhole is located.
The search has reportedly been focused on a recently developed sinkhole above the mine.
READ MORE ON MISSING PEOPLE
“What happened at that point, I don’t know, maybe the slurry of mud pushed her in one direction,” said John Bacha, the fire chief for Pleasant Unity.
“There were several different seams of that mine, shafts that all came together where this happened at.”
According to Trooper Cliff Greenfield, the search for Pollard is still ongoing.
“We are hopeful that she’s found alive,” he added.
As teams continue surface digging, cameras and electronic gadgets are being deployed, according to Chief Bacha.
It is also anticipated that search dogs will be employed.
New twist in Hannah Kobayashi case as cops reveal missing woman was spotted alive on CCTV going into Mexico
After being lowered down the pit, a pole camera equipped with a sensitive listening device picked up nothing.
Trooper Steve Limani of the Pennsylvania State Police said another camera captured what might have been a shoe about 30 feet below the surface.
Because of subsidence brought on by coal mining, which stopped in the 1950s, sinkholes are widespread in the region.
On the evening of Monday, December 2, Pollard went out at around 5 p.m. to look for her beloved pet cat, Pepper, and was last seen by her family.
Temperatures would have been far below freezing at that time.
When she hadn’t returned, her family alerted the police at around one in the morning on Tuesday.
Axel Hayes, Pollard’s son, described his mother as “a great person overall, a great mother,” who was also a catlover who once owned ten critters.
“Every cat that she’s ever come in contact with, she has a close bond with them,” he stated.
Read More on The US Sun
He went on to say that although his mother had been employed at Walmart for many years, she had not had a job recently.
“I’m just hoping right now that she’s still with us and she’s able to come back to us,” he stated.
Note: Every piece of content is rigorously reviewed by our team of experienced writers and editors to ensure its accuracy. Our writers use credible sources and adhere to strict fact-checking protocols to verify all claims and data before publication. If an error is identified, we promptly correct it and strive for transparency in all updates, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!