Search for Missing Grandma Is Now a Recovery Mission as Authorities Fear Mine Could Collapse

Mar. 15, 2025

“Unless it’s a miracle, most likely this is recovery,” the spokesperson added.

Limani said the difficulty in accessing the mine, as wellas its fragile state, led to a shift in the rescuers’ process of finding Pollard.

“The condition of the mine that we’ve been working through has changed our potential outlook on where we’re probably headed with our investigation,” he shared.

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Pennsylvania State Police via AP

The spokesperson added that “based off of oxygen levels being a little low, even though we pumped oxygen into the mine, it’s lower than what you want for someone to try to sustain their life.”

“It’s been difficult — I’d be lying to you if I didn’t tell you it feels a little bit like a loss,” Limani said.

Pollard, 64, went missing in Unity Township on Monday, Dec. 2, after she was looking for her cat Pepper around 5 p.m. A relative reported that she disappeared on Tuesday, Dec. 3, just before 1 a.m., Limani previously said, according toABC News.

The girl was reported to have been safe and told authorities she “nodded off in the car and woke up” and “Grandma never came back,” Limani said at the time.

ThePittsburgh Post-Gazettereported that crews shifted to deploying K-9 units, cameras and other electronic devices on Wednesday, Dec. 4, because of safety concerns surrounding the ground near where Pollard disappeared.

Despite the gravity of the situation, Limani said in his Dec. 4 update that searchers will continue to work through the operation.

“It’s taken longer than we thought,” the spokesperson said. “The mine is just not in good condition. It’s got areas where it’s starting to collapse and decay and buckle a little bit. We were afraid we’re gonna make it worse if we try to continue to plow forward with the techniques we were using. It’s gonna be another day of solid digging.”

Rescuers were scheduled to resume work Thursday morning, Dec. 5, theAssociated Pressreported.

source: people.com