Elizabeth Pollard, Unity Township, Pennsylvania grandmother feared to have fallen in 30ft sinkhole while looking for missing cat as rescuers conduct frantic search against time.
Pennsylvania authorities have launched a frantic search for a 64 year old woman feared to have fallen down a 30-foot sinkhole while looking for her cat in Westmoreland County.
Elizabeth Pollard of Unity Township went missing on Monday afternoon while out with her 5-year-old granddaughter looking for Pollard’s missing cat, Pepper, WPXI reported.
The young girl was found safe around 2:50 a.m, Tuesday morning amid ‘freezing temperatures’ in her grandma’s car. The vehicle was found near a large sinkhole that had opened up behind Monday’s Union Bar and Grille. The grandmother remains missing amid fears that Pollard may have now fallen down the 30ft sinkhole.
Body of 64 year old who fell through sinkhole looking for missing cat found
Race against time to recover missing 64 year old grandmother
It remained unclear if the 64 year old woman was still alive and if she may have suffered injuries falling into the sinkhole.
Emergency crews gathered along the sinkhole Tuesday morning to dig and look for Pollard, who has yet to emerge.
Tpr. Steve Limani said Pollard was last seen around 5 p.m. on Monday when she went to look for her cat and was reported missing by her family around 1 a.m., when she failed to emerge along with the granddaughter.
Is 64 year old Unity Township woman still alive?
Limani said the sinkhole was likely part of an old coal mine shaft in the area, describing the pocket entry the size of a manhole while the actual length below ground up to 30ft, KDKA reported.
According to Limani, crews were able to go about 30 feet with a camera, before coming across debris. Rescue teams said recovery will require further digging and the removal of debris.
‘We have people from the mine organization coming down here to help work through this with us,’ Trooper Limani reiterated. ‘Our main concern right now is that she fell into that sinkhole. So that’s where we’re focusing our efforts.’
Limani said it is warm in the sinkhole and oxygen levels are good.
‘Once you get below the surface, the hole gets significantly wider,’ he explained.
In potential dread, Limani warned that rescuers hadn’t heard anything coming from the sinkhole sight as rescuers now work against time.
