Pennsylvania

Missing Pennsylvania woman may have fallen into sinkhole: authorities

Published

1 year ago

December 3, 2024

Missing Pennsylvania woman may have fallen into sinkhole: authorities

The disappearance of a 64-year-old Pennsylvania woman is being investigated by state authorities, who said on Tuesday they fear she may have fallen into a sinkhole.

What Happened?

Elizabeth Pollard went missing on Monday evening after heading out to find her missing cat, Pepper, in the village of Marguerite, located about 40 miles east of Pittsburgh. The family of Pollard then called police at about 1 a.m. local time on Tuesday to say she had not been seen going out.

Pennsylvania State Police soon discovered her vehicle parked near Union Restaurant with her 5-year-old granddaughter inside, unharmed but alone.

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

However, a sinkhole had recently opened up as emergency crews worked through the frigid night, using advanced equipment to probe the manhole-sized sinkhole.

A pole camera outfitted with a sensitive listening device revealed no signs of life, though a second inspection hinted at the presence of what may be a shoe about 30 feet below the surface.

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

Pennsylvania State Police/AP

Authorities suspect the sinkhole, likely caused by subsidence from historic coal mining in the region, opened suddenly beneath Pollard as the opening had not been seen by hunters and restaurant workers who were in the area in the hours before Pollard’s disappearance.

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

Rescue efforts have since been intensified, with heavy machinery brought in to excavate the area.

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

How Did the Sinkhole Appear?

The sinkhole is believed to be linked to the long-abandoned Marguerite Mine, which operated until 1952 by the H.C. Frick Coke Company, according to the state’s Department of Environmental Protection. The Pittsburgh coal seam is about 20 feet below the surface in that area.

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

However, this incident highlights the lingering dangers of Pennsylvania’s coal mining legacy, with the state’s Department of Environmental Protection on-site to assess the area.

After the search concludes, experts from the Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation will determine if mine subsidence definitively caused the sinkhole, Department of Environmental Protection spokesperson Neil Shader said.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.

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Pennsylvania

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

Published

5 hours ago

January 6, 2026

Press Room

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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Pennsylvania

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

Published

17 hours ago

January 6, 2026

Press Room

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.

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.

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Pennsylvania

Where did people move to in 2025? Here’s what U-Haul says and how Pennsylvania ranks

Published

1 day ago

January 5, 2026

Press Room

Where did people move to in 2025? Here’s what U-Haul says and how Pennsylvania ranks

A new report from U-Haul shows where Pennsylvania residents are leaving to and where new residents are coming from in 2025. Here’s what to know about U-Haul’s top 10 states with the most and least growth numbers.

Eight warm weather states made U-Haul’s top 10 growth list for 2025, while eight states in the colder Northeast and Midwest filled out the bottom 10, including Pennsylvania and neighboring New York, New Jersey, and Ohio. Delaware ranked 21 out of 50 states in growth for 2025.

U-Haul also noted besides geography, that seven of the 10 states with the most growth featured Republican governors, nine of which went red in the last presidential election, and 9 out of 10 in the bottom growth states featured Democrat governors, seven of which went blue in the last presidential election.

“We continue to find that life circumstances — marriage, children, a death in the family, college, jobs and other events — dictate the need for most moves,” said John “J.T.” Taylor, U-Haul International president in press release. Adding, “But other factors can be important to people who are looking to change their surroundings. In-migration states are often appealing to those customers.”

U-Haul ranks states growth based on their one-way customer transactions that rented trucks, trailers or moving containers in one state and dropped it off in another state. Their growth index included over 2.5 million annual one-way transactions across the United States and Canada.

Texas holds the number one U-Haul growth state for the seventh time in the last 10 years while California ranked last for the sixth year in a how.

Pennsylvania’s growth rank for 2025 remained at a low 46 out of 50 states, same as 2024, and compared relatively similar to its growth numbers over the last 10 years, according to U-Haul’s data, with the exception during 2022-2023 when its highest growth numbers hit 24 out of 50 in 2022 and 38 out of 50 in 2023.

Oregon, Mississippi, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Louisiana and Montana were among the biggest year-over-year gainers in 2025 compared to U-Haul’s 2024 rankings, while Ohio, Virginia, Indiana, Iowa, Delaware and Nebraska saw the biggest drops.

While the national average rent in the U.S. sits at approximately $1,623 per month (0.4% higher than this time last year) the Keystone State boasts a lower rent average at approximately $1,526 per month (1.9% higher than last year), according to Apartments.com. It is ranked 34th least expensive rent by state.

Here’s what to know about Pennsylvania and what states saw the most and least growth in 2025 according to U-Haul.

Top 10 U-Haul growth states of 2025

In 2025 Pennsylvania ranked 46 out of 50 states on growth as reported by U-Haul.

Texas
Florida
North Carolina
Tennessee
South Carolina
Washington
Arizona
Idaho
Alabama
Georgia

U-Haul reported the 10 states with the lowest growth numbers were lead by California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Connecticut, and Michigan.

Where are Pennsylvania residents moving to and from?

According to the company’s semiannual U.S. migration trends report, based on the one-way rental data after the summer’s high moving season, it revealed that while Pennsylvania remains a top destination, Pennsylvanians are also packing up and heading out. Here’s where they moved to: