By MARK SCOLFORO
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 spokesman said Friday.
Trooper Steve Limani said the body of 64-year-old Elizabeth Pollard was being taken to the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office for an autopsy.
A coroner was dispatched by law enforcement shortly after 11 a.m. to Unity Township, where crews have been excavating the abandoned coal mine in an effort to locate Pollard.
Axel Hayes, Pollard’s son, said in a brief phone interview Friday that he had not heard from authorities and planned to call his father, Kenny Pollard, to let him know.
Elizabeth Pollard was last seen searching for her cat Pepper on Monday evening near a restaurant a half-mile (0.8 kilometers) from her home. Pollard’s family reported her missing around 1 a.m. Tuesday as the temperature in the area dropped below freezing.
The search her focused on a sinkhole with a manhole-sized surface gap that may have only recently opened up in the village of Marguerite, above where coal was mined until about 70 years ago.
Police said they found Pollard’s car parked about 20 feet (6 meters) from the sinkhole. Pollard’s 5-year-old granddaughter was found safe inside the car.
Hunters and restaurant workers who were in the area in the hours before Pollard’s disappearance told police they hadn’t noticed the sinkhole.
The effort to find Pollard included lowering a pole camera with a sensitive listening device into the hole, although it detected nothing. Crews removed a massive amount of soil and rock to try to reach the area where they believed she fell into the chasm about 30 feet (9 meters) deep.
Pollard grew up in Jeanette, about 12 miles (19 kilometers) from Unity Township, where she lived for much of her adult life. She previously worked at Walmart and was married for more than 40 years.
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