A huge search was underway Tuesday for a 64-year-old grandmother feared to have fallen down a 30-foot sinkhole in Pennsylvania while looking for her cat.
Elizabeth Pollard of Unity Township went missing on Monday afternoon while out with her 5-year-old granddaughter searching for Pollard’s missing feline named Pepper, WPXI reports.
The young girl was found safe around 2:50 a.m. Tuesday in her grandma’s vehicle — which was found near a large sinkhole that had opened up behind Monday’s Union Bar and Grille, the local outlet said.
Officials fear Elizabeth Pollard, 64, fell down a 30-foot sinkhole in Unity Township, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania State Police
Local police say that the little girl fell asleep in the car waiting for her grandmother to return, though she never did.
Emergency crews gathered along the sinkhole to dig and look for Pollard, but as of Tuesday morning, there was still no sign of the grandmother.
Her family had reported her missing around 1 a.m., with witnesses telling police they saw the grandmother searching for her cat as early as 3 p.m. the day before.
State police spokesperson Steve Limani said the sinkhole was likely part of an old coal mine shaft in the area.
Pollard’s vehicle was found near the scene, with her 5-year-old granddaughter inside. Pennsylvania State Police
Emergency crews are working to dig through the sinkhole and find Pollard. Pennsylvania State Police“The sinkhole appears to have been created during the time Ms. Pollard was walking around. We don’t see a time when it would have been created earlier,” Trooper Steve Limani said according to Penn Live.
“It almost feels like it opened up with her standing on top of it,” Limani ominously analyzed.
Emergency authorities have been using a vacuum truck to suck debris out of the sinkhole so they could place cameras and listening devices inside, according to Penn Live.
There have been no signs of life yet, according to the report.
Police declined to give further details and said the search and investigation are still active.
Search efforts have included a nearby wooded area, but officials say they believe the sinkhole is where Pollard went missing.
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, who were on scene, said the hole will be evaluated by the state’s Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation after the search is concluded to examine whether the sinkhole was caused by an abandoned mine, Penn Live reports.
The scene in Unity Township is similar to an incident that occurred on the other side of the world when a tourist vanished into a 26-foot sinkhole that appeared at the center of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, over the summer.
