Grief, relief felt as Unity woman's remains recovered from sinkhole

Feelings of defeat and doubt creeping into the minds of first responders were replaced with relief Friday morning after a Unity woman who disappeared into a sinkhole was found about 80 hours after the search for her began.

The body of Elizabeth Pollard, 64, was found about 12 feet southwest of the sinkhole where she fell underground, authorities said.

“We were very relieved that we were able to accomplish our goal,” said Pleasant Unity fire Chief John Bacha. “Obviously, it would’ve been best if we could’ve found her alive.”

Crews used heavy machinery to remove her body from an area that Marguerite fire Chief Scot Graham said was unstable and dangerous.

“As we were still working today, we still had collapse of the mine roof and mine sides,” he said. “With the machinery that was there, they were able to extricate her from the hole because it was not safe for us to send anybody down.”

The recovery capped four emotional days of searching for Pollard, who was last seen Monday evening outside Monday’s Union Restaurant while looking for her missing cat, Pepper, near the village of Marguerite in Unity.

Police said she showed the cat’s photo to some hunters in the adjacent woods and then is believed to have stepped on a weak spot on the surface and fell into the sinkhole, which led to a mine that hasn’t been in operation in 70 years.

Authorities began searching for Pollard around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday after she was reported missing to state police. That mission continued nonstop until late Wednesday afternoon when it switched from a rescue to a recovery operation after officials said they didn’t believe she would be found alive. They continued working during daylight hours Thursday and Friday.

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Scores of firefighters from 25 departments, and other crews from local, county and state agencies, descended on the restaurant, using it as a home base to get out of the elements during frigid temperatures and eat some of the food and refreshments donated by area residents and businesses. Monday’s Union Restaurant will reopen next week, said Trooper Steve Limani, after volunteer firefighters and a cleaning crew help the business get back on its feet.

He said the family that owns the restaurant kindly lent their resources and time to the mission.

“They’ve been through one heck of a whirlwind that easily could’ve happened to one of them,” he said. “That’s the least we could do for them for how they treated us.”

The sinkhole opened up just feet from a garage behind the restaurant. There was probably only a few inches of dirt and grass there, and it had likely been deteriorating over a number of years, Limani said.

He felt confident the restaurant was safe, adding numerous heavy emergency vehicles were parked outside for days with no problems.

The state Department of Environmental Protection said Friday night that it has begun stabilization and reclamation of the sinkhole and mine subsidence site.

The DEP said its Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation “will be overseeing emergency work to fill the excavated area at the incidentsite, drill and pump cement-like grout to stabilize the Margaurite Mine void in the immediated area to prevent additional subsidence and eliminate the hazard.”

It also said it is working with a federal mine office to ensure that reclamation contracts can be executed promptly.

Work begins on the fourth day of the search for Elizabeth Pollard in Unity. @TribLIVE @TribWestmoreCo pic.twitter.com/USo9PLQq0p

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Officials praised Ligonier Construction for its role in the operation. Bacha said an excavator was brought to the scene within three hours of officials requesting help from the company.

“How they did that, where they did that: They were amazing,” he said. “They had that and a front-end loader. And before you know it, there was a crew of maybe a dozen people there, and they were busting hump to get done what needed to be done.

“They were there and they said, ‘We are here until you tell us to go home,’” he said.

Searchers believed Pollard likely fell onto a cone of dirt that dropped underneath the sinkhole and rolled somewhere in the mine.

But finding her around that enormous mound of dirt proved to be problematic. Graham said there was a lot of expertise on site to help guide the mission. They planned Friday to drill holes in the earth and lower in cameras to see if Pollard could be found, but she was located before crews had to do that, Limani said.

“I couldn’t have been more happy for the family that we were able to find her,” he said. “That was the only thing they were concerned with.”

Officials extended their condolences to her family during a news conference Friday afternoon.

An autopsy is scheduled for Monday, Coroner Tim Carson said. No information had been released about funeral arrangements. Pollard’s cat has not been found.

Within hours of Pollard’s body being removed, the massive hole was being filled in. Officials from the state Bureau of Mining, who were on hand throughout the operation, were working on shoring up the mine, Limani said.

“They’re going to put the dirt back, and then they’re going to talk about putting a grout in there, eventually, and shoring up the entire area,” he said. “They absolutely plan on going into all of that particular area, that whole mine complex. … They’re going to work through all of that.”

“They’re talking about doing it in the very near future,” he said. “I think that’s important for the people that live in this community to understand that.”

Residents in any community who see something concerning, such as a depression in the ground or sinkhole, were encouraged to contact Roger F. Rummel, environmental program manager at the state Department of Environmental Protection at 814-472-1800 or rrummel@pa.gov.

Officials praised the community support throughout the operation. Township Supervisor Mike O’Barto said the community was fortunate to have so many resources come together to help find one of its residents.

“My hope is that a tragedy like this never happens again,” he said.