Elizabeth Pollard’s death is still being investigated, and the exact cause will only be known after an autopsy, according to the police.
Authorities have provided more details about what happened to the 64-year-old grandmother who went missing after falling into a sinkhole earlier this week. Following a search that lasted several days, her body was recovered on Friday, December 6.
At a press conference that afternoon, Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Steve Limani explained that Pollard’s body was found at around 11:05 a.m. She was discovered about 30 feet below the ground, 12 feet away from where the sinkhole had originally formed.
Limani told reporters, “As we were digging and carefully sifting through the dirt, we finally located Elizabeth’s body. She had fallen deep into the ground, which made it very difficult to find her.”
Marguerite Fire Chief Scot Graham, who was in charge of the rescue operation, explained that crews had to use machinery to recover Pollard’s body. It wasn’t safe to send people into the sinkhole because the ground around it was unstable and could collapse further.
Pollard’s body has been taken to the coroner’s office, where an autopsy will help determine how she died.
Pollard had been reported missing early on the morning of Tuesday, December 3, by a relative. According to authorities, she went out that evening to look for her missing cat and took her 5-year-old granddaughter with her. The granddaughter was later found safe and unharmed, asleep inside Pollard’s car, but Pollard herself had vanished.
About 36 hours after she was reported missing, the search effort changed from a rescue mission to a recovery operation. Police explained that the condition of the mine beneath the sinkhole was too dangerous for searchers to continue, and it was unlikely Pollard had survived the fall.
At the press conference, Trooper Limani explained what investigators believe may have happened. The mine, which was already weak, began to collapse, causing the sinkhole to form. When Pollard fell, she landed on a mound of debris created by the collapse. This mound, shaped like a Hershey’s Kiss, caused her to roll about 12 feet away from the sinkhole’s opening.
This movement made it harder for search teams to locate her because they initially searched closer to the sinkhole. “The challenge was that gravity had affected her location, so she wasn’t exactly where we thought she would be,” Limani said.
Authorities also confirmed that there was no sign of Pollard’s missing cat, which she had gone out to search for.
The police assured the community that steps are being taken to secure the area around the sinkhole. Workers are filling it with dirt, reinforcing the ground with grout, and stabilizing the area to prevent further collapses.
While Pollard’s death is a tragedy, finding her body has provided some closure for her family. Trooper Limani said, “The family wanted only one thing—to bring her home. I’m relieved we could give them that, so they can now honor her properly with a funeral and memorial.”
Pollard’s son, Axel Hayes, expressed his sorrow, saying, “I’m grateful they found her, but it’s heartbreaking that we didn’t find her alive. We had hoped she might have hit her head, fallen unconscious, or been in a coma, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.”
Before Pollard’s body was recovered, Hayes said his family had been holding onto hope while also preparing for the worst. “I can’t thank everyone enough for their hard work and effort in trying to find my mother,” he said.
The recovery of Pollard’s body marked the end of a difficult search and a heartbreaking chapter for her family and the community.
