PA Woman Swallowed By Sinkhole: Search Effort Shifts, Latest Info

MARGUERITE, PA — As the search for a missing grandmother who is believed to have fallen into a 30-foot sinkhole continued Thursday, authorities conceded their efforts are now a recovery mission.

Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Steve Limani said at a news briefing Wednesday night that police had informed the family of Elizabeth Pollard, 64, of the shift from the rescue mission. The decision was made after authorities concluded that the abandoned mine property where the search is occurring is in danger of collapsing.

"I know we have a lot of hopes, and maybe there is still a glimmer of hope, but based off of oxygen levels being a little lower, even though we've pumped oxygen into the mine, it's lower than what you would want for someone to try and sustain their life," Limani said. "It's been difficult."

Pollard was last seen Monday at around 5 p.m. She is believed to have disappeared while searching for her missing cat.

Family members reported her missing at around 1 a.m. on Tuesday. Her car was located early Tuesday behind Monday's Union restaurant. Her 5-year-old granddaughter was found inside the vehicle.

The search team later discovered a shoe in the sinkhole that is believed to belong to Pollard.

Limani said extensive efforts by police, firefighters, search and rescue personnel and mining experts have not revealed any signs of life.

"The cameras that we've ran through the mine, the different sound devices, we've had no signs of any form of life or anything that would help indicate that there was a glimmer of hope to continue to try and push and rush and push the envelope and be aggressive with the potential of of risking harm to other people," he said.

The search now goes from around the clock to dawn until dusk. Limani said equipment will be used to continue to excavate the site and attempt to stabilize the portion of the mine near the sinkhole.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection believes the subsidence that created the sinkhole was caused by historic mining in the abandoned Marguerite Mine last operated by the H.C. Frick Coke Co. in 1952.

Marguerite is located in Unity Township, about 40 miles east of Pittsburgh.