The body of a woman missing near a Pennsylvania sinkhole has been found

By The Associated Press

Published December 6, 2024 at 1:26 PM EST

Rescue workers search on Thursday for Elizabeth Pollard, who is believed to have disappeared in a sinkhole while looking for her cat, in Marguerite, Pa.

Updated December 06, 2024 at 14:24 PM ET

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 spokesperson 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.

Authorities planned a midafternoon news conference to provide additional details.

Kenny Pollard, 75, holds a photo in his home from a vacation that he and his wife, Elizabeth, took to Clearwater Beach, Fla., approximately 10 years ago.

The announcement came in the fourth day of the search for Pollard, who had last been seen Monday evening, looking for the cat near a restaurant half a mile from her home in the village of Marguerite.

Pollard's family reported her missing around 1 a.m. Tuesday as the temperature in the area dropped below freezing.

The search focused on a sinkhole that began as a manhole-sized gap and may have only recently opened above where coal was mined until about 70 years ago. Hunters and restaurant workers who were in the area in the hours before Pollard's disappearance told police they hadn't noticed the sinkhole.

Police said they found Pollard's car parked about 20 feet from the sinkhole with her 5-year-old granddaughter sleeping inside.

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 deep.