An urgent search continues for a grandmother who is believed to have fallen into a hole while searching for her beloved pet cat.
Elizabeth Pollard, 64, was reported missing early on Tuesday, December 3, with fears growing that she had fallen into a disused coal mine near her home.
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Authorities in Unity Township, Pennsylvania, have warned that the abandoned mine is too unstable for them to safely continue searching underground.
A car belonging to Pollard was found with her five-year-old daughter unharmed about two hours after she went missing.
The crater is located in the village of Margaret, about 40 miles east of Pittsburgh.
Emergency crews believe they have narrowed their search to a newly formed hole above the mine.
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“I don't know what happened at that point, maybe the mud pushed it in one direction,” said John Pasha, Pleasant Unity Fire Chief.
“There were several different layers of that mine, and shafts that all came together at the place where this happened.”
Trooper Cliff Greenfield said they are still actively searching for Pollard.
“We hope she will be found alive,” he added.
President Pasha said electronic devices and cameras are being used as crews continue surface drilling.
Search dogs are also expected to be used.
The polar camera equipped with a sensitive eavesdropping device did not detect anything after being lowered into the hole.
Another camera showed what could be a shoe about 30 feet below the surface, according to Pennsylvania State Police spokesman Trooper Steve Limani.
Gaps are common in the area due to subsidence caused by coal mining activity, which stopped in the 1950s.
Pollard was last seen by her family after going out around 5pm on Monday, December 2, to search for her beloved pet cat, Pepper.
At that time, temperatures had dropped below freezing.
Her relatives called the police at around 1 a.m. on Tuesday when she had not returned yet.
Pollard's son, Axel Hayes, said his mother was “a great person in general, a great mother,” adding that she was a cat lover and at one point had ten pets.
“Every cat I've ever come into contact with has had a close relationship,” he said.
He added that his mother worked for many years at Walmart but had not worked recently.
“I hope now that she is still with us and will be able to come back to us,” he said.
