Search for grandma who ‘fell into sinkhole’ looking for her missing cat

A grandma is believed to have fallen into a sinkhole while searching for her missing cat.

Elizabeth Pollard, 64, was last seen on Monday afternoon when she went looking for her feline, Pepper, with her five-year-old granddaughter, WPXI reported.

Family members became worried after not hearing from Pollard and contacted Pennsylvania State Police around 1am on Tuesday.

Shortly before 3am, troopers spotted Pollard’s car parked behind Monday’s Union Restaurant in Latrobe. Her granddaughter was fine, and told them that she was sitting waiting for her grandma.

Troopers soon found a sinkhole near the vehicle that they assumed formed when Pollard walked over to look for Pepper. It was not very wide, but appeared layer and deep.

‘Once you get below the surface, the hole gets significantly wider,’ trooper Steve Limani told the TV station.

The sinkhole, roughly 15 to 20 feet from Pollard’s vehicle, was at the site of a former coal mine. Crews managed to go down about 30 feet with a camera but more digging was required to go further, Limani told TNND.

Crew members have not heard any sounds from inside the sinkhole so far in the search effort.

‘We’ve used a lot of resources and a lot of technology,’ said Pleasant Unity Fire Chief John Bacha.

However, a camera captured an image of what looked like a shoe.

Oxygen levels inside the sinkhole are good and the temperature is warmer, according to Bacha.

About 100 people, including officials with the Pennsylvania Bureau of Mines, have been involved in the effort.

‘We are still in rescue mode,’ said Marguerite Fire Chief Scot Graham.

The Unity Township Board of Advisors has created a resolution declaring a disaster emergency and allowing emergency responders to obtain any needed equipment without bidding it, said chairman Mike O’Barto.

Pollard vanished less than six months after a 20-month-old boy playing on a splash pad on the front lawn of his home in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, was nearly swallowed by a sinkhole. His mother quickly pulled him before he fell through.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.