Sinkhole search, rescue mission continues for missing woman in Pennsylvania

By Ava Rash, Lily Coleman & Nick Matoney

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    UNITY TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania (WTAE) — Pennsylvania State Police provided an update on Wednesday morning, saying they’ll have to “switch gears” regarding their efforts within the sinkhole where the search for Elizabeth Pollard is taking place.

“The water being pushed through the mine to help break down the materials so that we can suck it out is causing distress on the integrity, and that distress is actually becoming dangerous for a potential other mine subsidence to take place,” said Trooper Steve Limani.

He added, “And it’s putting some of the people at risk, and we’re probably going to have to switch gears, which might be a slower switching of gears and a little bit more complicated of a dig.”

Limani said he remains hopeful they’ll be able to locate the 64-year-old woman, who is believed to have fallen into a 30-foot sinkhole in Unity Township.

Police, firefighters, EMS, and construction crews are involved in the rescue mission in the area of Marguerite Road, near Monday’s Union Restaurant. Limani said the search will not stop until the woman is found.

Police said Pollard may have fallen into a sinkhole as she was searching for her missing cat. She was last seen near where the sinkhole was found around 5 p.m. Monday.

Pollard’s niece, Tabitha Pollard, shared this message on behalf of Pollard’s husband.

“My uncle just wants to say thanks for everybody’s prayers and continue prayers as we’re going through this hard time. We appreciate everybody’s support in this time. Right now, all we’re really doing is hoping for the best,” Tabitha Pollard said.

Pollard’s 5-year-old granddaughter was found in Pollard’s car nearby and was fine, according to police, after being in the car for roughly eight hours. Limani said she was found around 3 a.m.

About 100 people were helping with the search and rescue throughout the day Tuesday. Crews were using a vacuum truck to suck debris out of the sinkhole.

As of 11 p.m. Tuesday, crews were using a trench box, which forms a structured shaft adjacent to the sinkhole to add extra support as crews continued to search for the missing woman.

Limani said the trench box extends deep below the surface adjacent to the sinkhole. Crews were working Tuesday night to move dirt underground and tunnel over to the sinkhole in a way that keeps crews safe and doesn’t prolong the search for Pollard.

Limani described the soil surrounding that sinkhole as clay-like, which he said is extremely difficult to move. However, he said that doesn’t mean it can’t be done.

“Until you’re telling us there’s no chance, there’s a chance, and I know that there might be mathematical difficulties or maybe some science, but there’s people that were in mines an hour from here, they were in them longer and were recovered and saved,” Limani said.

Limani said a shoe believed to be Pollard’s was found in the sinkhole in the early stages of the search.

“That hole wasn’t there earlier in the day. People were here, they were working. It’s close enough to the building that somebody would have seen it, and everything that the experts that did observe or inspect the hole, it appeared to be newer. So, with that said, we don’t feel a reason that we should be looking elsewhere,” Limani said. “We did take the drones out and do the additional work to try and rule those things out. All the evidence we have pointed towards, we are in the right space. It’s also 15 feet, 20 feet from where her vehicle was.”

Pleasant Unity Volunteer Fire Department Chief John Bacha said he was in a harness, tethered to a rope, as crews used a ladder to get an initial look at the hole.

“You couldn’t even get close enough to the hole because of the way it was undermined. We were able to take a quick look, and we did not see a victim easily through there, and we began different search operations at that time,” Bacha said.

The rescue efforts are happening under an emergency declaration by Unity Township.

“This gives the township, as well as our EMS, a chance to get any bit of equipment that we may need without having to deal with a bidding process,” said Mike O’Barto, chairman of the township’s board of supervisors.

Construction equipment from a Ligonier company was brought to the scene early Tuesday to help with the search efforts. The state mining department was also on scene, trying to do some excavation to help searchers gain access to the hole.

“The sinkhole, it appears that it was most likely created during the time while, unfortunately, Miss Pollard was walking around,” Limani said. “There is no evidence of any time where that hole would have been here prior to her deciding to walk around looking for her cat.”

“The village of Marguerite, Pleasant, Unity, a lot of little villages around here are old coal patch towns. Very common to find a lot of mines in these areas, obviously a concern to have these mine subsidence issues,” Bacha said

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