A missing Pennsylvania grandmother is believed to have fallen into a large sinkhole while looking for her pet cat Pepper, according to authorities.
Elizabeth Pollard, 64, disappeared in Unity Township, Penn., on Monday, Dec. 2, after she went searching for the animal around 5 p.m. A relative reported her missing on Tuesday, Dec. 3, just before 1 a.m., Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Steve Limani said in a press conference, reports ABC News.
According to The New York Times, when authorities arrived, they found Pollard’s 5-year-old granddaughter still inside the vehicle. It was parked near a newly formed giant sinkhole, which led first responders to believe the woman had fallen in.
The little girl was said to have been safe, but told authorities she “nodded off in the car and woke up” and “Grandma never came back,” Limani said.
“At that point in time, we realized this could be a very bad situation,” Limani told reporters during a second press conference Tuesday afternoon, per ABC News.
Excavators and rescue teams have since begun working to remove dirt, allowing them to access the sinkhole, even lowering cameras to assist in the search for Pollard with the help of the state’s Bureau of Mine Safety.
“It appears that it was most likely created during the time while, unfortunately, Ms. Pollard was walking around,” he added, per the Times. “We’re hoping everyone keeps their family in their prayers, that this ends up being a rescue mission, and that’s how we’re going to continue to conduct ourselves.”
According to the Associated Press, Limani said a shoe possibly belonging to Pollard was found “about 30 feet (9 meters) below the surface.”
“It almost feels like it opened up with her standing on top of it,” Limani said.
“We are pretty confident we are in the right place. We’re hoping there is still a void she could be in,” Pleasant Valley Volunteer Fire Chief John Bacha told TribLive.
Limani echoed Bacha’s statement, adding, “We don’t feel a reason that we should be looking elsewhere.”
During the early Tuesday press conference, Marguerite Fire Chief Scot Graham described the sinkhole as a “big void” that “was all different depths.”
“The process is long and it is tedious,” the fire chief said.
Bacha assured the community that rescue efforts would continue, and that despite the drop in temperature at night, it is warmer below the surface — something that could give Pollard’s loved ones hope.
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It is believed that the void opened up above a former coal mine, last operated by the H.C. Frick Coke Company in 1952.
A spokesperson for Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection said as soon as the sinkhole area is secured, the department will investigate the site “to determine if this issue is the result of historic mine subsidence,” per ABC News.
Pepper has yet to be found.
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