By Mark Scolforo and Gene Puskaar, Associated Press
(AP) UNITY TOWNSHIP, PA After two perilous days of searching amid rock and mud with no indications of life, authorities in western Pennsylvania announced Wednesday that the search for a woman who is thought to have fallen into a sinkhole had turned into a recovery mission.
Trooper Steve Limani, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Police, stated during a press conference that while they no longer think they will recover 64-year-old Elizabeth Pollard alive, they are still searching for her remains.
According to Limani, there have been no indications of life of any kind or anything to lead rescuers to believe they should keep trying to push the edge and be aggressive, even at the risk of endangering others. He observed that there was not enough oxygen below ground.
For the past two days, emergency personnel and others have been attempting to find Pollard. Her family reported her missing early on Tuesday, and two hours later, her car was discovered in what is believed to be a recently opened sinkhole atop a long-closed, collapsing mine, with her unharmed 5-year-old granddaughter inside.
Regarding the choice to reclassify the endeavor as a recovery rather than a rescue, Limani stated, “We feel like we failed.” It’s difficult.
In the community of Marguerite, around 40 miles east of Pittsburgh, Limani commended the teams who entered the abandoned mine to assist in the removal of materials in the hunt for Pollard.
They would emerge weary and smeared in muck from head to toe. Additionally, the following group was being dropped in while they were being lifted up. According to Limani, there was one after the next after the next.
Earlier, authorities had stated that the mine’s ceiling was unstable and had collapsed in multiple locations.
You know, we got to where we wanted to go and where we believed she was. The incident’s operations officer, Pleasant Unity Fire Chief John Bacha, stated earlier Wednesday, “We’ve been to that spot.” I’m not sure what happened at that moment; perhaps the mud slurry pushed her in one direction. It was at the intersection of numerous shafts and seams in that mine that this occurred.
“As surface digging continued with heavy equipment, searchers were using cameras and electronic devices,” Bacha added. With winter weather predicted for the area, they intend to significantly enlarge the surface hole in the next few days.
Because of subsidence brought on by coal mining, sinkholes can be found in the area. The mine has been closed since the 1950s, and rescuers had been using water to break down and remove mud and clay.
A pole camera equipped with a sensitive listening device was dropped into the hole by crews, but it failed to detect anything. According to Limani on Tuesday, a second camera that was placed into the hole revealed what might have been a shoe some thirty feet below the surface. Drones and thermal imaging equipment were also used by searchers, but to no avail.
At around one in the morning on Tuesday, Pollard’s family called the police to report that she had not been seen since she went out to look for her cat, Pepper, at around five o’clock on Monday. That night, the temperature fell considerably below freezing.
Before declaring the change from rescue to recovery, Limani said the searchers had a meeting with her family. “I believe they understand,” Limani remarked.
Axel Hayes, Pollard’s son, characterized her as a contented individual who enjoyed going out to enjoy herself. When Hayes and his twin brother were babies, she and her husband adopted them. She used to work at Walmart, but she hasn’t had a job lately.
Hayes described Pollard as a wonderful mother who never truly wronged anyone and a wonderful person in general.
He claimed that Pollard had roughly ten cats at one time.
According to Hayes, she has a strong affinity with every cat she has ever interacted with.
About 20 feet from the sinkhole, police reported finding Pollard’s vehicle parked behind Monday’s Union Restaurant in Marguerite. Rescuers speculated that the sinkhole was fresh because local restaurant employees and hunters claimed they had not observed the manhole-sized gap in the hours prior to Pollard’s disappearance.
According to Limani, Pollard lived across the street from the small area where her granddaughter and car were discovered.
The young girl woke up after falling asleep in the automobile. “Gramma never returned,” Limani remarked. Until two troopers came to her aid, the toddler remained in the vehicle.
What happened to Pepper is unclear.
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From Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Scolforo reported. Contributions to this article came from Sarah Brumfield in Maryland and Kathy McCormack in New Hampshire.
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