By Mark Scolforo and Gene Puskaar, Associated Press
(AP) UNITY TOWNSHIP, PA Authorities said Wednesday that they hope to find Elizabeth Pollard alive, but the team searching for a missing Pennsylvania woman who is thought to have fallen into a sinkhole has decided that an abandoned coal mine is too unstable for personnel to safely dig underground.
For two days, a sizable crew has been attempting to find 64-year-old Pollard. Early on Tuesday, her family reported her missing, and two hours later, her car was discovered in what is thought to be a recently opened sinkhole above the long-closed, crumbling mine, along with her unharmed 5-year-old granddaughter.
In a noon update, authorities stated that the mine’s roof had collapsed multiple times and was so unstable that it was unsafe to send workers underground. About 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of Pittsburgh, in the community of Marguerite, is where the sinkhole is located.
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, “We’ve been there.” 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.
Crews were still actively looking for Pollard, according to Trooper Cliff Greenfield.
Greenfield stated, “We hope she is found alive.”
“As surface digging continues with heavy equipment, searchers are using cameras and electronic devices,” he said. You can also use search dogs.
Because of subsidence brought on by coal mining, sinkholes can be found in the area. Trooper Steve Limani, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Police, stated that although rescuers had been using water to break down and remove clay and mud from the mine, which has been closed since the 1950s, this increased the risk of possible future mine subsidence.
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, a second camera that was dropped into the hole revealed what appeared to be a shoe approximately 30 feet (9 meters) below the surface. In vain, searchers have also used thermal imaging equipment and drones.
Rescuers were harnessed and access to the immediate area around the hole was strictly supervised and controlled, according to incident commander Marguerite Fire Chief Scot Graham.
We are unable to discern what is happening beneath us. Once more, there was a tiny hole on top, but as soon as you inserted a camera to have a look, there was a large gap, Graham claimed. And there were various depths. The procedure is drawn out and tiresome. We must ensure that both the rescue effort and safety remain our top priorities.
According to Bacha, they hoped that she could still be able to fill the hole.
At after one in the morning on Tuesday, Pollard’s family called the police to report that she had not been seen since she went out on Monday night to look for her cat, Pepper. That night, the temperature fell considerably below freezing.
Axel Hayes, Pollard’s son, stated in an interview with CBS News that he is feeling a range of emotions.
I’m disappointed that she hasn’t been located yet, and my main concern is if she is still down there, where she is, or if she moved and found a safer place, Hayes stated. Right now, all I can hope for is that she’s still here, that she’ll survive, that my niece has a grandmother, and that I have a mother I can talk to.
About 20 feet (6 meters) from the sinkhole, police reported finding Pollard’s vehicle parked near 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.
Limani remarked, “It almost feels like it opened up with her standing on top of it.”
Concerned that the ground surrounding the sinkhole opening was unstable, searchers built a separate entrance and entered the mine late Tuesday afternoon.
Let’s face it, we need a little bit of luck, don’t we? Wednesday, said Limani. We require a small amount of good fortune. We require a small amount of God’s favorable favor.
According to Limani, Pollard lives in a little community across the street from where her granddaughter and automobile were.
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.
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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