Dec. 6 (UPI) — Elizabeth Pollard, the 64-year-old grandmother who disappeared into a sinkhole while searching for her cat, was found dead Thursday after a four-day search.
State police and Westmoreland County coroner Tim Carson confirmed Pollard was found.
According to Pennsylvania State Police, crews using an excavator reached the spot in a mine below the sinkhole where Pollard was believed to have fallen.
She appeared to have fallen through a thin layer of dirt and down 30 feet before breaking through the mine shaft.
Workers brought equipment in Friday to drill into the mine shaft’s ceiling.
On Wednesday the sinkhole above the mine became unstable and police said the search for Pollard became a recovery effort.
Pollard went missing after setting off with her 5-year-old granddaughter Monday to look for the cat. The child was found safe in Pollard’s car parked behind the restaurant about 2:50 a.m. Tuesday.
Pollard was last seen alive behind Union Restaurant in Unity Township, Pa., where she had gone looking for cat.
The sinkhole is roughly the size of a large manhole and was 15 to 20 feet away from the car. Below it was the mine.
Digging to access the space where Pollard fell was made difficult by a brittle underground mine structure.