Missing Grandmother Found Dead Days After Falling into Sinkhole in Pennsylvania

Mar. 15, 2025

The body ofElizabeth Pollard, the Pennsylvania grandmother who went missing after she fell through a 30-foot sinkhole, has been found, according to authorities.

Pennsylvania State Police and the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office said that Pollard’s body was located following a four-day search, reported NBC affiliateWPXI, CBS affiliateKDKAand ABC affiliateWTAEreported.

Elizabeth Pollard’s body was found around 11 a.m., the Westmoreland County Coroner confirmed over the phone to The National News Desk.

State Trooper Steve Limani told WPXI that officials were relieved they were able to provide closure for Pollard’s family.

Officials did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Rescue workers continue to search, Dec. 4, 2024, for Elizabeth Pollard, who is believed to have disappeared in a sinkhole while looking for her cat, in Marguerite, Pa.AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

The 64-year-old Unity Township, Pa., woman set off hours earlier in her car, along with her 5-year-old granddaughter, who was later found safe and asleep inside her vehicle.

About 36 hours after Pollard was first reported missing, authorities changed the scope of the search and rescue effort, citing safety concerns.

Rescuers said on Wednesday, Dec. 4, that they would no longer send manned crews into the 30-foot sinkhole where Pollard was believed to have fallen,according to thePittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Instead, crews utilized K-9 units, cameras and other electronic devices to search for the woman, the newspaper reported.

Rescue workers search through the night in a sinkhole for Elizabeth Pollard, who disappeared while looking for her cat, in Marguerite, Pa., Dec. 3, 2024.AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

“We’re just to a point where we can’t send rescuers to an area where they can be injured or killed,” Pleasant Unity Volunteer Fire Department Chief John Bacha said. “We’re still looking and doing everything we can.”

“Things changed quickly whenever we ran into an oxygen deficient atmosphere, which meant at that point, everybody that was going into that area to do that excavation work had to be on breathing apparatus,” Bacha said, according to the newspaper.

On Dec. 4, Pennsylvania State Trooper Steve Limani announced in a press conference thatthe search for Pollard had turned into a recovery effortwhile the fragile state of the mine resulted in a shift in rescue operations.

“The condition of the mine that we’ve been working through has changed our potential outlook on where we’re probably headed with our investigation,” he shared.

“The mine is just not in good condition,” Limani added. “It’s got areas where it’s starting to collapse and decay and buckle a little bit. We were afraid we’re gonna make it worse if we try to continue to plow forward with the techniques we were using.”

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Limani noted in his Dec. 4 update that “based off of oxygen levels being a little low, even though we pumped oxygen into the mine, it’s lower than what you want for someone to try to sustain their life.”

“It’s been difficult — I’d be lying to you if I didn’t tell you it feels a little bit like a loss,” Limani said.

“Unless it’s a miracle, most likely this is recovery,” he added.

During the time when his mother was missing, Pollard’s son Axel Hayes spoke with CBS News about the emotions he experienced during the search, theAssociated Pressreported.

“I’m upset that she hasn’t been found yet,” Hayes said at the time, “and I’m really just worried about whether she’s still down there, where she is down there, or she went somewhere and found somewhere safer. Right now, I just hope she’s alive and well, that she’s going to make it."

Hayes also recalled Pollard, who adopted him and his twin brother when they were infants, as being a happy person who liked having fun, theAPreported. She previously worked at Walmart.

In an email to PEOPLE on Thursday, Dec. 5, Hayes wrote: “I can only say appreciate everybody’s hard work and efforts in searching for my mother. We are still holding hopes out that’s she’s still with us but we did prepare for the worst.”

source: people.com