Pennsylvania

Search for missing grandma who may have fallen in sinkhole turns into recovery effort

Published

1 year ago

December 5, 2024

Search for missing grandma who may have fallen in sinkhole turns into recovery effort

The search for a grandmother who apparently fell into a sinkhole while looking for her cat earlier this week in a coal mine town about 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh is now a recovery mission, state officials announced.

The hunt for Elizabeth Pollard entered day three Thursday with crews, who officials have performed what state troopers called an impressive, grueling effort on the ground, attempting to locate the 64-year-old woman.

“It’s now a matter of trying to find her and do right by her family,” Pennsylvania State Police spokesperson Trooper Steve Limani said during a news conference Wednesday night, adding there have been no signs of life since she vanished Monday.

Crews search for missing grandma at abandoned mine

Limani said crews had worked “a full two days” pumping water through a long-abandoned underground mine at the site suctioning out dirt, debris and rocks to clear an area and search for Pollard – a process Limani compared to trying to pull a boulder out of a house of stacked cards.

“(Crews) were just busting their butts, covered in mud, everything they could to move debris,” Limani said.

The abandoned mine is in Marguerite, an unincorporated community and coal town in Westmoreland County.

“During the course of our day today we’ve experienced some difficulty when it came to trying to work on the mine and access to the mine and the fragile state the mine is in,” Limani said, adding there is a good chance the mine may collapse.

Limani said troopers met with her family Wednesday night to update them on the search.

Crews had to switch gears due to unstable mine

At the risk of the safety of people who are in there, the compromised condition of the mine, and the potential for inclement incoming weather including snow, Limani said, crews have had to switch gears.

The trooper said crews will now work dawn until dusk to dig out a large plot, “more than four times the size of the area that we had originally done, to try and secure the mine so crews can access it to try and go in there and recover her. It’s going to be at least another day of just solid digging.”

Despite crews pumping oxygen into the mine, Limani said oxygen levels remain lower than what someone would want inside “for someone to try and sustain their life.”

Pleasant Unity Fire Chief John Bacha said in a Wednesday news conference, Bacha said the danger became apparent around 3 a.m. Wednesday, and the roof of the mine had collapsed in several places making it unstable.

Troopers ‘virtually positive’ Elizabeth Pollard fell into sinkhole

Limani said troopers are “virtually positive” Pollard fell into the sinkhole near Monday’s Union Restaurant in Unity Township.

On Wednesday, PSP Communications Director Myles Snyder told USA TODAY a camera lowered into the hole revealed what appears to be a shoe.

Pollard was last seen about 5 p.m. searching for her cat Pepper, troopers said. Pollard’s family contacted state police at around 1 a.m. Tuesday morning to report that she had not come home.

Police found Pollard’s car behind the restaurant around 3 a.m. with her 5-year-old granddaughter safe inside, the agency reported. State troopers found a sinkhole in the area near the car nearly the size of a manhole cover.

“The sinkhole, it appears that it was most likely created during the time, unfortunately, that Mrs. Pollard was walking around,” Limani told KDKA on Tuesday. “We don’t see any evidence of any time where that hole would have been there prior to deciding to walk around and look for her cat.”

USA TODAY has reached out to Limani for more information.

What is a sinkhole?

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a sinkhole is a hole in the ground that opens up when there is no external surface drainage. When water builds up, it drains into the subsurface and dissolves the sediment below, creating caverns until the ground surface itself collapses.

They can form from natural or manmade causes, according to Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection. They also can crop up after extreme weather.

In the U.S., they’re most common in these states: Florida, Texas, Alabama, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee and Pennsylvania, according to the American Geosciences Institute.

Pollard’s granddaughter unable to provide details about what happened

Pollard’s granddaughter, who’d been in the car for almost 12 hours in freezing temperatures, was found unharmed, troopers said.

The girl, now safe with her parents, was unable to give law enforcement any details about what happened.

“She was just a 5-year-old girl that was waiting in the car for her grandmother to come back,” Limani said.

Contributing: Jeanine Santucci and James Powel

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.

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Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Lottery Powerball, Pick 2 Day results for Dec. 20, 2025

Published

6 hours ago

December 21, 2025

Press Room

The Pennsylvania Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025 results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

04-05-28-52-69, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 3

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 2 numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

Day: 2-2, Wild: 2

Evening: 5-3, Wild: 9

Check Pick 2 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

Day: 2-0-0, Wild: 2

Evening: 4-6-7, Wild: 9

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

Day: 6-6-7-9, Wild: 2

Evening: 1-1-7-1, Wild: 9

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 5 numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

Day: 9-9-1-2-6, Wild: 2

Evening: 8-1-9-3-5, Wild: 9

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash4Life numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

14-24-26-42-45, Cash Ball: 04

Check Cash4Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash 5 numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

05-07-08-37-38

Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Treasure Hunt numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

03-06-08-16-18

Check Treasure Hunt payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Match 6 Lotto numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

10-13-22-31-35-45

Check Match 6 Lotto payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

05-08-19-23-43, Powerball: 06

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

Sign the Ticket: Ensure your ticket has your signature, name, address and phone number on the back.
Prizes up to $600: Claim at any PA Lottery retailer or by mail: Pennsylvania Lottery, ATTN: CLAIMS, PO BOX 8671, Harrisburg, PA 17105.
Prizes from $600 to $2,500: Use a Claim Form to claim at a retailer or by mail: Pennsylvania Lottery, ATTN: CLAIMS, PO BOX 8671, Harrisburg, PA 17105.
Prizes over $2,500: Mail your signed ticket with a Claim Form or in person at a Lottery Area Office (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.).

Lottery Headquarters is currently not open to the public. Visit the PA Lottery website for other office locations near you.

When are the Pennsylvania Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 11 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 2, 3, 4, 5: 1:35 p.m. and 6:59 p.m. daily.
Cash4Life: 9 p.m. daily.
Cash 5: 6:59 p.m. daily.
Treasure Hunt: 1:35 p.m. daily.
Match 6 Lotto: 6:59 p.m. Monday and Thursday.
Powerball Double Play: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Pennsylvania editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Powerball lottery ticket wins $1 million as jackpot grows to $1.5 billion

Published

18 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

Pennsylvania Powerball lottery ticket wins million as jackpot grows to .5 billion

article

FILE – Powerball logo displayed on a phone screen and coins are seen in this illustration photo.

PHILADELPHIA – A Powerball ticket sold in Pennsylvania matched five numbers in Wednesday night’s drawing, winning $1 million, according to lottery officials.

What we know:

The Pennsylvania ticket was one of several nationwide that matched all five white balls. The ticket did not include the Power Play multiplier.

Because no one matched all six numbers, the Powerball jackpot continues to climb. The next drawing will feature an estimated $1.5 billion jackpot, with a cash option of $689.3 million.

Winning numbers (Dec. 17, 2025)

25 – 33 – 53 – 62 – 66
Powerball: 17
Power Play: 4x

The Pennsylvania Lottery has not yet announced where the winning ticket was sold.

What’s next:

The next Powerball drawing takes place Saturday night, Dec. 20. The estimated jackpot is an astounding $1.5 billion.

The Source: This article is based on official Powerball drawing results.

LotteryPennsylvania

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Pennsylvania

More than $22 million in

Published

1 day ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

More than $22 million in “Money Match” checks were mailed to nearly 100,000 Pennsylvanians, the treasury said.

In a news release on Thursday, the Pennsylvania Treasury said people should be on the lookout for the checks, which are part of the Pennsylvania Money Match program. Treasurer Stacy Garrity said to cash or deposit the checks “promptly.”

The first Pennsylvania Money Match checks, totaling more than $1.7 million, are now on the way to Pennsylvanians’ mailboxes. Pennsylvania Money Match is a new program that allows Treasury to return certain unclaimed property to rightful owners automatically, which was approved unanimously by the General Assembly and signed by the Governor last year.

“I want Pennsylvanians to know that this is a real check, it is real money, and it belongs to them,” Garrity said in the news release. “And as always, I still encourage everyone to regularly search for unclaimed property online, as many claims will not qualify for the Money Match process.”

With the mailing of the year’s last batch of checks, more than $50 million will have been returned automatically to Pennsylvanians.

What are Money Match checks?

The program allows the state treasury to automatically return unclaimed property valued up to $500 owned by a single individual. Before the program was created in 2024, residents themselves had to seek out unclaimed property.

“I’m thrilled to continue this program as we work hard to get more money back to its rightful owners,” Garrity said in the news release.

However, if the property has multiple owners or is valued higher than $500, Pennsylvanians still need to file a claim.

What is unclaimed property?

Unclaimed property includes dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, forgotten stocks, rebates and insurance policies, among other things. It can also include the contents of abandoned safe deposit boxes.

According to the state treasury, more than one in 10 Pennsylvanians is owed some of the $5 billion in unclaimed property in the treasury’s care, and the average value of a claim is more than $1,000.