Rescuers searched early Wednesday for a woman who went looking for her lost cat and apparently fell into a sinkhole that had recently opened above an abandoned western Pennsylvania coal mine.

UNITY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The team looking for a missing Pennsylvania grandmother believed to have fallen into a sinkhole has determined that an abandoned coal mine is too unstable for people to safely search underground, authorities said Wednesday while still expressing hope Elizabeth Pollard will be found alive.

Crews are still working to locate 64-year-old Elizabeth Pollard, who is believed to have fallen into a sinkhole in Unity Township while she was out searching for a missing cat.​

Pleasant Unity Fire Chief John Bacha said the victim is believed to have fallen into the sinkhole while searching for her cat.

Pennsylvania crews are continuing to search for Elizabeth Pollard, 64, who was last seen in Marguerite, Pennsylvania on Dec. 2. She is believed to have fallen into a sinkhole while looking for her lost cat,

Elizabeth Pollard, a grandmother residing in Unity Township, Pennsylvania, was reported missing on Tuesday 3. As the authorities continue their search for the missing woman, some fear that she might have fallen into a sinkhole.

Rescuers contemplated the safest way Wednesday to search for a woman who apparently fell into a Pennsylvania sinkhole while looking for her lost cat, saying a crumbling old coal mine beneath the