Body of Pennsylvania grandma Elizabeth Pollard found in sinkhole above abandoned mine
UNITY TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) — The body of Elizabeth Pollard, the missing 64-year-old woman who fell through a sinkhole while looking for her cat in Unity Township, Pennsylvania, has been found, authorities announced on Friday.
Pollard fell about 30 feet below the surface of where the mine would have sat and was found about 12 feet away from where the original sinkhole opened up, Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Steve Limani said in a press conference Friday. She was found around 11 a.m. after crews spent days surgically excavating dirt from the old mine.
"This was quite a relief. I'll be honest with you, I felt a little defeated yesterday. It was difficult to go to bed and I wasn't the only one," Pleasant Unity Volunteer Fire Department Chief John Bacha said on Friday.
After Pollard went missing on Monday evening, troopers found her car around 3 a.m. Tuesday parked behind Monday's Union Restaurant on Marguerite Road. Her 5-year-old granddaughter was inside the vehicle, cold but unharmed. While searching the area, police said they found a sinkhole, which they believed opened up while Pollard was looking for her cat.
Since Tuesday, had been digging, shoring up and searching the abandoned coal mine that was below the sinkhole. The massive effort took about 80 hours and involved more than two dozen fire departments, several other groups and Ligonier Construction.
"When she fell through the shaft and she landed and struck that mound of — we'll call it a Hershey Kiss [shape] — it appears that she rolled or moved that 12 feet or so where our initial spot was," Limani said.
Rescuers held out hope she'd be found alive, but on Wednesday night, they informed Pollard's family that the operation was moved into a recovery phase. Authorities on Friday said they wanted a better outcome but were relieved they could at least provide some closure to the family after finding Pollard's body.
"I couldn't have been more happy for the family that we were able to find her because that was the only thing that they were concerned with after yesterday, was if they can have her so they can do what's right when it comes to a memorialized service and having a viewing and everything that everyone deserves to have if that's what your faith believes," Limani said.
As of right now, it's unclear whether the 30-foot fall killed Pollard, but Limani hopes an autopsy will reveal more answers.
Crews work to shore up abandoned mine
As the search for Pollard progressed, there were fears that the abandoned mine could collapse as they moved "a tremendous amount" of dirt, Limani said. Rather than sending people down, the incident commander said crews used machinery to retrieve Pollard's body, because even Friday, parts of the roof and sides were collapsing.
Now, Limani said engineers from the mining division will work on shoring up the mine.
"They're going to put the dirt back and then they're going to talk about putting a grout in there eventually and shoring up the entire area," Limani said.
He called the abandoned mine complex, saying, "It's almost like a mini town underneath this town, which is wild." Crews had to use hand-drawn maps from the 1940s to help navigate the recovery.
Marguerite is an old coal patch town, and authorities said they've heard from residents who are concerned about the potential for more collapses. Pennsylvania is home to one-third of the nation's abandoned land mines, the state Department of Environmental Protection said. Anyone who sees any kind of depression in the ground or sinkhole opening can call the Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation at 814-472-1800.
The DEP said in a press release on Friday that it has been working with the federal Office of Surface Mine Reclamation and Enforcement to ensure that contracts for reclamation work could be executed as soon as possible.
"DEP's Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation will be overseeing emergency work to fill the excavated area at the incident site, drill and pump a cement-like grout to stabilize the Marguerite Mine void in the immediate area to prevent additional subsidence, and eliminate the hazard," the DEP said in the press release.
Monday's Union Restaurant, which authorities thanked for all their help during the search, said it expects to be back open on Tuesday. Limani said he believes it's safe, citing all the heavy equipment crews had parked at the scene without a problem.
Pollard's family is asking for privacy at this time. No details about services have been announced. Limani asked people to keep the family in their prayers.
"We were made of several old coal mining towns and of course, Marguerite is one of them. And when people suffer, we all suffer. The people of Unity Township are sad today," Unity Township Supervisor Mike O'Barto said on Friday.
"My hope is that a tragedy like this never happens again," O'Barto added.
As for Pollard's cat, Pepper hasn't been found.
