acegame888 Pennsylvania sinkhole: Crews recover woman’s body after 4-day search
Kenny Pollard, 75, holds a photo in his home from a vacation that he and his wife, Elizabeth, took to Clearwater Beach, Fla., approximately 10 years ago. (Associated Press Photo/Matt Freed)
The remains of a woman who fell into a sinkhole were recovered Friday, four days after she went missing while searching for her cat, a state police spokesperson said.
Trooper Steve Limani said the body of 64-year-old Elizabeth Pollard was sent to the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office for an autopsy after rescuers used machinery to bring her to the surface.
Article continues after this advertisementLimani told reporters Pollard was found at about 11 a.m. approximately 30 feet (9 meters) underground, some 12 feet (4 meters) from the opening of the sinkhole. Limani said Pollard fell onto a cone-shaped pile of debris created by the crumbling mine, then rolled or otherwise moved toward the southwest to where her body was recovered.
FEATURED STORIES GLOBALNATION Lawmaker echoes EU official’s call for PH to rejoin ICC GLOBALNATION Trump appoints ‘AI and crypto czar’ GLOBALNATION Timor-Leste court OKs Teves return to PHThe autopsy may help determine whether Pollard was killed by the fall, Limani said.
The announcement came on the fourth day of the search for Pollard, who had last been seen Monday evening, looking for the cat near a restaurant half a mile (0.8 kilometers) from her home in the village of Marguerite.
Article continues after this advertisementREAD: Tourist swallowed by sinkhole in Kuala Lumpur, search continues
Article continues after this advertisementAxel Hayes, Pollard’s son, said a state trooper told him and other family members that her body had been found.
Article continues after this advertisement“I was hoping for the best, I really was,” Hayes said in a phone interview. “I was hoping she was still alive, maybe in a coma or something. I wasn’t expecting all of this.”
Mike O’Barto, who chairs the Unity Township Board of Supervisors, said the tragedy was deeply felt among his friends and neighbors.
Article continues after this advertisement“Unity Township is a tight-knit community. We are made of several coal mining towns. And of course, Marguerite’s one of them,” O’Barto said. “And when people suffer, we all suffer. The people of Unity Township are sad today.”
The sinkhole, where the remains of Elizabeth Pollard was found Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, is shown in Marguerite, Pennsylvania. (Associated Press Photo/Matt Freed)
Pollard’s family reported her missing around 1 a.m. Tuesday as the temperature in the area dropped below freezing.
READ: Fil-Am’s body found in sinkhole, mom fears foul play by Hawaii organized crime
The search focused on a sinkhole that began as a manhole-sized gap and may have only recently opened above where coal was mined until about 70 years ago. Hunters and restaurant workers who were in the area in the hours before Pollard’s disappearance told police they hadn’t noticed the sinkhole.
Police said they found Pollard’s car parked about 20 feet (6 meters) from the sinkhole with her 5-year-old granddaughter inside. The cat, Pepper, has not reappeared, Hayes said.
The effort to find Pollard — which a fire official said lasted about 80 hours — included lowering a pole camera with a sensitive listening device into the hole, although it detected nothing. Crews removed a massive amount of soil and rock to try to reach the area where they believed she fell into the chasm about 30 feet (9 meters) deep.
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Pollard grew up in Jeanetteacegame888, about 12 miles (19 kilometers) from Unity Township, where she lived for much of her adult life. She previously worked at Walmart and was married for more than 40 years.
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