The family of Elizabeth Pollard, the 64-year-old Pennsylvania grandmother who was found dead after falling into a 30-foot sinkhole over a week ago, said their loved one found happiness in taking care of her 5-year-old granddaughter following the death of her son.
“Her granddaughter was her world,” Tabitha Pollard, a niece of Elizabeth, told The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Wherever she was, her granddaughter was with her.”
This past January, Pollard, of Unity Township, lost her son Brandon, 28.
“She was always a happy person,” Axel Hayes, Elizabeth’s son and Brandon’s twin brother, told the newspaper. “There was never a day I saw her sad until my brother died.”
Pollard disappeared while looking for her cat on Dec. 2 and was reported missing by a relative the following day, according to authorities.
She set off hours earlier in her car, along with her granddaughter, who was later found safe and asleep inside the vehicle. It was parked near a giant sinkhole, which led responders to suspect Pollard may have fallen into it.
Her disappearance prompted a multi-day search by excavators and rescue teams. Then on Dec. 4, Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Steve Limani said that their work had turned into a recovery effort.
Two days later, authorities announced the discovery of Pollard’s body. Officials believe she fell through a sinkhole that unexpectedly opened in the ground, and then she dropped into an abandoned mine below.
In a phone conversation on Tuesday, Dec. 10, Westmoreland County coroner Tim Carson confirmed that, based on a preliminary autopsy, Pollard sustained blunt force trauma to the head and torso. He also said that it is uncertain if Pollard died instantly.
Toxicology results were not completed yet and a final autopsy is expected in about 4-6 weeks.
Pollard’s niece told the Tribune-Review that as they continued to grieve over the death of their son Brandon, her aunt and uncle took comfort in raising their granddaughter.
“They were still healing,” she said, “and now the family is dealing with her loss. It’s a very tough situation right now for my uncle.”
In a GoFundMe established on behalf of Pollard’s family, organizer Stacey Reid-Donahue said she worked with Pollard at a Walmart in Greenburg, Penn., from 1993 to 1999.
“Our Walmart family/friends are asking for support for Liz’s family,” Reid-Donahue wrote in the fundraiser’s description. “All who know Liz know how wonderful, selfless, caring and beautiful she is. She would give her shirt off her back for someone else in need. She loved working in retail and was devoted to her job, her husband and family.”
