Honk News– The search for a missing Pennsylvania grandmother’s pet cat Pepper has led investigators to assume that she may have fallen into a massive sinkhole.
On Monday, December 2, at approximately 5 pm, 64-year-old Elizabeth Pollard went searching for the animal in Unity Township, Pennsylvania. She never returned. During a news conference, Trooper Steve Limani of the Pennsylvania State Police confirmed that a relative had reported her missing on Tuesday, December 3, shortly before 1 a.m., according to ABC News.
Police reportedly discovered Pollard’s 5-year-old daughter inside the car when they arrived, as reported by The New York Times. First responders thought the woman had fallen in because it was parked near a newly developed big sinkhole.
Limani stated that the young girl informed authorities that her grandmother “nodded off in the car and woke up” and “Grandma never came back.”
“At that point in time, we realized this could be a very bad situation,” Limani told reporters during a second press conference Tuesday afternoon, per ABC News.
Since then, rescuers and excavators have started clearing the area around the sinkhole so they can reach it. With the support of the state’s Bureau of Mine Safety, they have even lowered cameras to help find Pollard.
“It appears that it was most likely created during the time while, unfortunately, Ms. Pollard was walking around,” he added, per the Times. “We’re hoping everyone keeps their family in their prayers, that this ends up being a rescue mission, and that’s how we’re going to continue to conduct ourselves.”
The Associated Press reports that Limani stated that a shoe that may have belonged to Pollard was discovered “about 30 feet (9 meters) below the surface.”
“It almost feels like it opened up with her standing on top of it,” Limani said.
“We are pretty confident we are in the right place. We’re hoping there is still a void she could be in,” Pleasant Valley Volunteer Fire Chief John Bacha told TribLive.
In response to Bacha’s remarks, Limani said, “We don’t feel a reason that we should be looking elsewhere.”
Marguerite Fire Chief Scot Graham characterized the sinkhole as a “big void” with “all different depths” during the news briefing that took place early on Tuesday.
“The process is long and it is tedious,” announced the fire chief.
The community was reassured by Bacha that rescue attempts will persist, and that although the temperature drops at night, it’s warmer below ground, which may provide Pollard’s loved ones hope.
The gap reportedly formed atop a coal mine that the H.C. Frick Coke Company stopped using in 1952.
“To determine if this issue is the result of historic mine subsidence,” said a representative from Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection, adding that the agency will investigate the sinkhole once its perimeter has been sealed.
Pepper is still missing.
Reference: Missing Grandma May Have Been Swallowed by Sinkhole