The search for a missing Pennsylvania grandmother believed to have fallen into a sinkhole was stalled Wednesday because of unstable conditions at the site.
Elizabeth Pollard, 64, was last seen alive on Monday night in her small town of Marguerite, about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh. She had gone looking for her missing cat, Pepper, and was reported missing by family members around 1 a.m. Tuesday.
Emergency crews quickly spotted a sinkhole near Pollard’s car and began searching the area. But by Wednesday morning, the surrounding area had become shaky itself because it was on top of an old coal mine.
“The integrity of that mine is starting to become compromised,” Pennsylvania State Police trooper Steve Limani said at a press conference. “We’re probably going to have to switch gears.”
Rescue workers had been pumping in water to break down debris and clear space in the mine for the search. But with the entire mine becoming unstable, leaders decided Wednesday to start digging up the ground instead.
Though temperatures dropped below freezing in southwestern Pennsylvania overnight, the temperature below ground in the old mine remained around 55 degrees, and there was available oxygen.
Authorities believe Pollard fell into remnants of the old Marguerite Mine, which extends under a significant portion of the area. It was last used in 1952 by H.C. Frick Coke Company. The Marguerite Mine is just one of many abandoned coal mines in the Pittsburgh area, and state authorities have estimated there are more than 3,500 sinkholes throughout Pennsylvania.