On Tuesday, volunteers and search teams in Westmoreland County are trying to find a 64-year-old woman who they suspect fell 30 feet into a sinkhole while trying to find her missing cat.
State police officers told the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette and WTAE that Elizabeth Pollard, a woman, was reported missing near Marguerite Road in Unity Township at around one in the morning on Tuesday.
Around 5 p.m., Pollard’s family last saw her while she was searching for her missing cat, Pepper. According to the stories, Monday.
According to the accounts, Pollard’s 5-year-old granddaughter was discovered in his car parked at a neighboring restaurant, unharmed. According to the police, the girl slept off in the car, and her grandmother never came back.
About 20 feet from Pollard’s car, police found the sinkhole.
It looks like the sinkhole was formed while Ms. Pollard was out and about. Trooper Steven Limani stated, “We don’t see a time when it would have been created earlier.” With her standing on top of it, it nearly seems as though it opened up.
Limani claims that previous mining operations in the region are thought to be the source of the sinkhole. The opening of the sinkhole is around the size of a manhole cover, but according to the police, it is at least 30 feet deep and has an inside temperature of about 50 degrees.
In order to remove rubble from the sinkhole and install cameras and listening devices, first responders have been employing a vacuum truck. A camera captured what appeared to be a shoe inside the pit, but no sounds have been heard from within.
Limani told the Post-Gazette that conducting a rescue effort and traversing the area are safety concerns.It is much wider once you get below the surface, and it is completely dark there.
Although authorities are certain that the sinkhole is the most likely location where Pollard went missing, search attempts for her began in a nearby wooded area.
We are fairly certain that we are in the proper location. We’re hopeful that she might still be in a void. John Bachatold Triblive is the chief of the Pleasant Valley Volunteer Fire Company.
On Tuesday, about 100 individuals participated in the search.
We’re not going to stop. We’ll keep going till we get her back. In my community, that’s how we behave,” Limani told the Post-Gazette. We’ll be awake all night working. Nobody is going to stop.
After responding to the situation, a team from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection determined that the underground vacuum was most likely caused by subsidence from the former Marguerite Mine, which was shut down by the H.C. Frick Coke Company in 1952. There, the Pittsburgh coal seam is located around 20 feet below the surface.
After the search is concluded, the state’s Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation will inspect the area to determine whether mine subsidence was the source of the sinkhole, according to DEP spokesperson Neil Shader.
Stories by
Madison Montag
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!