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Search goes into the night for Pennsylvania woman who may have fallen into a sinkhole

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Search goes into the night for Pennsylvania woman who may have fallen into a sinkhole


Rescue workers search in a sinkhole for Elizabeth Pollard, who disappeared while looking for her cat, in Marguerite, Pa., Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024.

Gene J. Puskar/AP


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Gene J. Puskar/AP

A grandmother looking for her lost cat apparently fell into a sinkhole that had recently opened above an abandoned western Pennsylvania coal mine and rescuers worked late into the night Tuesday to try and find her.

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Bright lights illuminated snow flurries and various equipment at the site while crews worked above and below ground, video from the scene showed.

Crews lowered a pole camera with a sensitive listening device into the hole in Marguerite on Tuesday morning but it detected nothing. A camera lowered into the hole showed what could be a shoe about 30 feet (9 meters) below the surface, according to Pennsylvania State Police spokesperson, Trooper Steve Limani.

“It almost feels like it opened up with her standing on top of it,” Limani said.

The family of Elizabeth Pollard, 64, called police at about 1 a.m. Tuesday to say she had not been seen since going out Monday evening to search for Pepper, her cat.

Police said they found Pollard’s car parked near Monday’s Union Restaurant in Marguerite, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of Pittsburgh. Pollard’s 5-year-old granddaughter was found safe inside the car.

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This Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. image provided by the Pennsylvania State Police shows the top of a sinkhole in the village of Marguerite, Pa., where rescuers were searching for a woman who disappeared.

This Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. image provided by the Pennsylvania State Police shows the top of a sinkhole in the village of Marguerite, Pa., where rescuers were searching for a woman who disappeared.

State Police Trooper Stephen Limani/Pennsylvania State Police via AP


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State Police Trooper Stephen Limani/Pennsylvania State Police via AP

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The manhole-sized opening had not been seen by hunters and restaurant workers who were in the area in the hours before Pollard’s disappearance, leading rescuers to speculate the sinkhole was new.

Authorities used an excavator to dig in the area, where temperatures dropped to below freezing overnight.

“We are pretty confident we are in the right place. We’re hoping there is still a void she could be in,” Pleasant Valley Volunteer Fire Company Chief John Bacha told Triblive.

By late afternoon, searchers were using access to a mine to try to find her and had dug a separate entrance out of concern that the ground around the sinkhole opening was not stable. Authorities vowed to keep searching for Pollard until she is found.

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Pollard lives in a small neighborhood across the street from where her car and granddaughter were located, Limani said.

The young girl “nodded off in the car and woke up. Grandma never came back,” Limani said. The child stayed in the car until two troopers rescued her. It’s not clear what happened to Pepper.

Police said sinkholes are not uncommon because of subsidence from coal mining activity in the area.

A team from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, which responded to the scene, concluded the underground void is likely the result of work in the Marguerite Mine, last operated by the H.C. Frick Coke Company in 1952. The Pittsburgh coal seam is about 20 feet (6 meters) below the surface in that area.

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Department of Environmental Protection spokesperson Neil Shader said the state’s Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation will examine the scene after the search is over to see if the sinkhole was indeed caused by mine subsidence.



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Police hunt for masked suspects who looted a Pennsylvania Lululemon overnight

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Police hunt for masked suspects who looted a Pennsylvania Lululemon overnight


Pennsylvania police are searching for at least two masked suspects believed to have looted a Lululemon store overnight.

At least two masked men broke into a Lululemon in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, around 2 a.m. Tuesday, police told NBC 10 Philadelphia. Ardmore, a suburb of Philadelphia, is home to about 14,000 people.

The suspected thieves used a sledgehammer to break the glass on the store’s front door, according to police.

Once they gained access, the masked individuals grabbed handfuls of merchandise, security footage shows. The men went in and out of the store several times, grabbing handfuls of items that included coats, vests and shirts from the men’s section, police told local outlet WPVI.

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Surveillance footage shows at least two masked men breaking into a Pennsylvania Lululemon, police say

Surveillance footage shows at least two masked men breaking into a Pennsylvania Lululemon, police say (ABC 6/Lower Merion Police Department)

“This is taking it to another level,” Lower Merion Police Superintendent Andy Block told WPVI.

The suspects then loaded the merchandise into a U-Haul truck. Their truck was last seen at the intersection of Bryn Mawr Avenue and Woodbine Avenue, just a few miles from the store, police said.

The entire incident lasted about five minutes, which Block said is longer than usual for this type of burglary.

“Usually, it is because in a smash-and-grab situation they want to get in and get out before they’re identified or anybody’s notified on it,” Block told CBS Philadelphia.

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Block told WPVI the store is a popular target for robbers, given that many of its items cost more than $100. Now, he expects the alleged thieves have sold or exchanged the items.

“They’re using it on the market, maybe they’re exchanging it for drugs, or they’re selling it on the black market. It’s a highly sought-after item,” he told WPVI.

Thieves took off with handfuls of merchandise from a Pennsylvania Lululemon, according to police

Thieves took off with handfuls of merchandise from a Pennsylvania Lululemon, according to police (AFP via Getty Images)

Even though police say Lululemon is a popular target, Lt. Michael Keenan of the Lower Merion Police Department still called the incident “out of character.”

“This is an out of character, out of type incident where we don’t normally see people smashing windows in the middle of the night. But, certainly this is something that is distinct,” Keenan told NBC 10 Philadelphia.

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The store still opened Tuesday, with a banner covering the smashed glass on the door, according to Fox 29. Gina Picciano, a general manager at a restaurant across the street, said it was a frightening incident.

“I walked out here with my bartender and we looked, and it’s scary that it’s happening right across the way from us,” Picciano told Fox 29.

The same store was previously robbed in May 2024. Thieves stole more than $10,000 worth of merchandise during that incident, NBC 10 Philadelphia reports.

The Independent has contacted the Lower Merion Police Department and Lululemon for comment.



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Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro has $30 million for his reelection bid, a new state record

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Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro has  million for his reelection bid, a new state record


Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro set another campaign finance record for Pennsylvania with $30 million on hand as he seeks a second term this fall, his campaign said Tuesday. Pennsylvania has emerged as the nation’s premier presidential battleground state, and Shapiro’s strong showing in the 2022 governor’s race elevated his profile within the Democratic Party, where he’s viewed as a potential 2028 White House contender. In the general election, Shapiro, 52, is expected to face Stacy Garrity, the twice-elected state treasurer who has been endorsed by the state Republican Party.



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3 winning scratch-off lotto tickets totaling $7.5M sold in Pennsylvania

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3 winning scratch-off lotto tickets totaling .5M sold in Pennsylvania


RADNOR TWP., Pa. (WPVI) — Three winning scratch-off tickets totaling $7.5 million were sold in Pennsylvania, lottery officials announced on Monday.

One winning “MONOPOLY Own It All” ticket worth $5 million was sold in Delaware County at the GIANT on the 500 block of East Lancaster Avenue. The grocery store will receive a $10,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.

“MONOPOLY Own It All” is a $50 game that offers top prizes of $5 million.

In Erie County, a $1.5 million-winning “Cash Spectacular” scratch-off was purchased at a Sheetz on Perry Highway. “Cash Spectacular” is a $30 game that offers top prizes of $1.5 million.

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And in Luzerne County, a $1 million-winning “Millionaire Loading” scratch-off was sold at Schiel’s Family Market in Wilkes-Barre. “Millionaire Loading” is a $20 game that offers top prizes of $1 million.

Scratch-off prizes expire one year from the game’s end-sale date posted at palottery.com.

Winners should immediately sign the back of their ticket and call the Pennsylvania Lottery at 1-800-692-7481.

Copyright © 2026 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.



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