Summary
Elizabeth Pollard, a 64-year-old Pennsylvania grandmother, was found dead 30 feet below the surface after falling into a sinkhole connected to a decades-old mine shaft while searching for her cat.
The four-day search shifted from rescue to recovery as hopes of finding her alive diminished. Pollard’s car was discovered nearby with her 5-year-old granddaughter inside, unharmed despite freezing temperatures.
Authorities plan to stabilize the area to prevent future sinkhole incidents, as abandoned mines pose ongoing risks in southwestern Pennsylvania.
This is such a terrifying and sad way to go. Just looking for her cat. Probably trying to bring it inside to be warm since it is winter out.
Sinkholes are such a sneaky and unexpectedly scary thing. There are so many horrors mother nature can throw at us - earthquakes, tornados, tsunamis, wildfires. And yet, a small unseen hole in the ground can lead to a massive cavern.
As a father of little ones I’m rather grateful this isn’t a “grandmother falls in sinkhole while 5 year old child found dead in car” story. I get haunted by those fucked up stories.
I wonder if the cats ok… they can usually survive it there aren’t preditors like coyotes.
Whoah, whoah, whoah… cat OK?
Thanks for asking the important question.
How are they going to stabilize the area exactly?