US News

Searchers find body of missing Pennsylvania woman who fell into sinkhole

By
Steve Helling
Published Dec. 6, 2024
Updated Dec. 6, 2024, 4:33 p.m. ET

The body of a 64-year-old woman who fell into a sinkhole while searching for her missing cat was found Friday by searchers, police said Friday.

The grim discovery of Elizabeth Pollard’s body was made on Friday morning.

Pennsylvania State Police spokesperson Trooper Steve Limani announced that crews were still working to recover the body from the hole. 

The remains of a woman who fell into a sinkhole were recovered Friday, four days after she went missing while searching for her cat, a state police spokesperson said.
Elizabeth Pollard’s remains were recovered Friday, four days after she went missing while searching for her cat, a state police spokesperson said. AP
Elizabeth Pollard.
The body Pollard was being taken to the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office for an autopsy, said Trooper Steve Limani. Family handout

“It’s a matter of removing the dirt,” Limani said in a news conference, adding that Pollard’s family has been notified of her death. 

Pollard, 64, apparently fell into the hole on Monday afternoon when she and her 5-year-old granddaughter left in a car to look for the cat in the rural southwestern Pennsylvania community of Marguerite. 

When Pollard and the little girl did not return, a relative contacted Pennsylvania State Police. 

Police discovered the vehicle early Tuesday morning.

Pollard’s granddaughter was unharmed inside. A fresh, deep sinkhole was just a few steps away.

Authorities began a rescue mission to try to find Pollard. 

But as responders searched the hole for Pollard, they found no signs of life.

Kenny Pollard, 75, holds a photo in his home from a vacation that he and his wife, Elizabeth, took to Clearwater Beach, Fla. 10 years ago.
Kenny Pollard, 75, holds a photo he and his wife from 10 years ago. AP
Pollard’s family reported her missing around 1 a.m. Tuesday as the temperature in the area dropped below freezing.
Pollard’s family reported her missing around 1 a.m. Tuesday as the temperature in the area dropped below freezing. AP

By Wednesday evening, they announced that they no longer expected to find her alive. 

“The family kept telling us, ‘we really want to have the body back so we can lay her to rest,'” Limani told reporters Friday. “As a group, we just wanted to make sure that we were able to do that.” 

Pollard grew up in Jeanette, about 12 miles from Unity Township, where she lived most of her adult life, The Associated Press reported. 

The search focused on a sinkhole that began as a manhole-sized gap and may have only recently opened above where coal was mined until about 70 years ago.
The search focused on a sinkhole that began as a manhole-sized gap and may have only recently opened above where coal was mined until about 70 years ago.
Rescue workers were seen searching for Pollard on Thursday, Dec. 5.
Rescue workers were seen searching for Pollard on Thursday, Dec. 5. AP

She was married for more than 40 years and worked at WalMart. 

Authorities expect to brief the press with updates later Friday evening.