They faced exhaustion and defeat, but they clung to optimism as they worked almost nonstop for four days.
In a race against time, almost 100 first responders and engineers joined the search for Elizabeth Pollard, a grandmother from Westmoreland County who had fallen through a sinkhole and into a mile-long abandoned mine.
Crews were unable to continue their descent into the dark depths of the mine because parts of the sinkhole off Marguerite Road in Unity Township had buckled and the roof had fallen in. The rescue effort evolved into a body-recovery expedition by the third day.
Pollard’s body was discovered on Friday after they had finally dug through the dense wall of soil in the mine’s right section. The distance between her and the shaft’s bottom was around twelve feet. She appeared to have been redirected as she plummeted approximately thirty feet by a Hershey Kiss-shaped clump of debris.
According to Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Steve Limani, “it was a rough, rough go mentally and emotionally, and there were times we doubted ourselves.” Our resources, time, and options were all running low. I was concerned that we would not locate her. However, we weren’t giving up.
Pollard was last saw outside Monday’s Union Restaurant on Monday while looking for her pet, Pepper. According to Limani, she fell through a sinkhole that had enough earth for grass to grow and a roof system.
Her 5-year-old granddaughter was recovered in her car two hours after her family reported her missing at around one in the morning on Tuesday, unharmed but terrified. Police stated that no sightings of the cat had been reported in the vicinity, and they did not know where Pepper was.
First responders from all throughout Pennsylvania, the state’s emergency management agency, the U.S. Bureau of Mines, and numerous other agencies participated in the mammoth search for Pollard, according to incident leader Marguerite Fire Chief Scot Graham.
According to him, this wasn’t just a Unity Township reaction. This was a reaction from Pennsylvania. It was incredible.
Trooper Limani stated that he was not shocked that so many people showed out to work nonstop in an attempt to find her alive and, once it became evident that this would not be possible, to bring her to her family.
According to him, that’s what it’s like to be from southwest Pennsylvania. We won’t give you directions if you’re lost. We’ll be the ones driving you there. The people here are like that. We all lend a hand to those in need. We are all in pain when someone else is. We are proud of the southwest region of Pennsylvania.
Although Pollard’s family expressed their hope that she would be discovered alive, they were ultimately thankful that her body had been found.
Huddled inside the restaurant alongside long tables laden with chocolate chip cookies, cartons of Dunkin’ coffee, bags of chips, and other food contributions from the community, the family and search team members were solemn throughout Friday afternoon.
By the middle of the 20th century, the H.C. Frick Coke Company had established, mined, and abandoned the Marguerite Mine, which is where the sinkhole leads. Previously, the mine supplied coal to Pittsburgh and other Eastern U.S. steel mills and coke ovens.
According to mine maps provided by the state Department of Environmental Protection, the Marguerite Mine covered more than 1,000 acres underground and was one of several such mines in a stretch that ran from Derry Township to Mount Pleasant.
According to Limani, the state Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation began filling in the enormous hole left by the days-long search for Pollard shortly after her body was located. According to him, state police will be on duty all night to deter interested bystanders from approaching the sinkhole site.
Throughout the week, DEP personnel were present at the area and will keep looking into the event. Issues pertaining to mining operations carried out before 1977 must be resolved by the DEP.
According to Limani, Unity Township is one of hundreds of patch towns situated atop defunct mines in southwest Pennsylvania.
To avoid another catastrophe, engineers will install concrete grounding throughout the mine over the course of the upcoming year, according to Limani. Assuring the people that the mine, which he described as a miniature town beneath this town, is safe once more is of utmost importance, he said.
Due to safety concerns, the garage behind Monday’s Union Restaurant, which was so close to the hole’s edge that icicles on its roof were falling into the black depths on Friday, will probably have to be razed.
According to Limani, the entire terrain surrounding the building will be inspected for any unstable regions. The eatery has been closed to the public since the search started Tuesday, and workers will clean it over the weekend.
Some locals claimed that this week’s excavation has intensified their long-standing concerns about their houses sitting over the abandoned mine.
For five years, 29-year-old Cordero Martinez has resided across the street from Monday’s. The Marguerite Mine is also above his house, and he said it was unsettling to watch how quickly calamity may happen.
He added that his five-year-old son, Adrian, is only permitted to play in the front yard so that his father can watch him. He made a detour to work every day of the week.
Mark Koloshinsky has lived across the street from the sinkhole site since he was a young boy. Knowing that Pollard went into the sinkhole while merely crossing the ground made him anxious about something as basic as going to his mailbox, he claimed, adding to his concerns about the mine’s stability.
“Clearly, things will need to change,” he stated.
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