PITTSBURGH — They had worked nearly nonstop for four days, facing exhaustion and defeat but holding on to hope.

The search effort grew to more than 100 first responders and engineers, racing against the clock to find Elizabeth Pollard, a Westmoreland County grandmother who had fallen through a sinkhole and into an abandoned mine that spanned miles.

Portions of the sinkhole off Marguerite Road in Unity Township had buckled and the roof collapsed, making it too dangerous for crews to continue descending into the black depths of the mine. By day three, the rescue operation turned to a body-recovery mission.

On Friday, they had finally tunneled through the thick wall of dirt in the right section of the mine and found Pollard's body. She was lying about 12 feet away from the bottom of the shaft. A “Hershey Kiss-shaped” formation of debris appears to have deflected her as she fell about 30 feet.

“It was a rough, rough go mentally and emotionally, and there were times we doubted ourselves,” said Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Steve Limani. “We were running out of options, time, and resources. I was worried we weren't going to find her. But we weren’t quitting.”

Pollard was last seen Monday while searching for her cat, Pepper, outside Monday’s Union Restaurant. She fell through the sinkhole that had "just enough dirt" for a roof system and grass to grow, Limani said.

Her family reported her missing about 1 a.m. Tuesday, and her car was found two hours later with her 5-year-old granddaughter inside, scared but unhurt. Pepper's whereabouts were unknown and police said there had been no sightings of the cat in the area.

Marguerite Fire Chief Scot Graham, the incident commander, said the effort to find Pollard was “massive” and involved first responders from across Pennsylvania, the state’s emergency management agency, the U.S. Bureau of Mines and multiple other agencies.

“This wasn’t just a Unity Township response,” he said. “This was a Pennsylvania response. It was amazing.”

Trooper Limani said he wasn’t surprised so many people came out to work around the clock to find her alive and, when it was clear that wouldn’t happen, to return her to her family.

“That’s what it’s like to be from southwest Pennsylvania,” he said. “If you’re lost, we’re not giving you directions. We’re driving you there ourselves. That’s what the people here are like. If someone needs help, we all help. If someone is hurting, we’re all hurting. That’s the southwest Pennsylvania we’re proud of.”

Pollard’s family members said they were hoping she would be found alive, but in the end were grateful her body had been recovered.

The family and members of the search team were somber throughout Friday afternoon, huddled inside the restaurant next to long tables filled with chocolate chip cookies, cartons of Dunkin’ coffee, bags of chips and other food donations from community members.

The sinkhole leads to the Marguerite Mine, which was developed, mined and then abandoned by the H.C. Frick Coke Co. by the middle of the last century. The mine once fed coal to coke ovens and then steel mills in Pittsburgh and across the Eastern U.S.

One of many such mines along a strip spanning from Derry Township to Mount Pleasant, the Marguerite Mine encompassed more than 1,000 acres underground, according to mine maps available from the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Shortly after Pollard’s body was recovered, the state Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation started filling in the massive hole created from the dayslong dig to find her, Limani said. State police planned to remain stationed in the area overnight to keep curious onlookers away from the sinkhole site, he said.

DEP officials were at the scene throughout the week and will continue to investigate the incident. The DEP is responsible for resolving problems related to mining performed prior to 1977.

Limani said Unity Township is one of hundreds of “patch towns” in southwest Pennsylvania — communities built atop of abandoned mines.

Over the next year, engineers will fill the entire mine with concrete grounding to prevent another tragedy, Limani said. He said ensuring the community that the mine — which he said is “almost like a mini town underneath this town” — is safe again is a top priority.

The garage behind Monday’s Union Restaurant at the edge of the hole — so close that icicles on its roof were dripping into the black depths on Friday — will likely have to be demolished because of safety concerns.

All land around the building will be examined for unstable areas, Limani said. Over the weekend, crews will clean the restaurant, which has been closed to the public since the search began Tuesday.

Some nearby residents said they had long worried about their homes being above the abandoned mine, but this week’s excavation has heightened those fears.

Cordero Martinez, 29, has lived across the street from Monday’s for five years. His house also sits above the Marguerite Mine, and he said it was “stressful” seeing how fast disaster could strike.

He took a detour to his job all week, and said his son, Adrian, 5, is only allowed to play in the front yard, where his father can keep an eye on him.

Since childhood, Mark Koloshinsky has lived across the street from the sinkhole site. He said he’s worried the stability of the mine has been further stressed, and knowing Pollard fell into the sinkhole just walking across the ground made him nervous about something as simple as going to his mailbox.

"Obviously, things are going to have to change," he said.

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(Adam Babetski contributed to this report.)

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