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The sinkhole in Marguerite, Pennsylvania, where a woman is believed to have fallen.
1 / 2Photo: State Police Trooper Stephen Limani/Pennsylvania State Police Via AP/TT
The woman went out with her grandson to look for her missing cat – but never came back.
Now authorities in Pennsylvania, USA, fear that the 64-year-old fell into a sinkhole.
A camera submerged in the 30-foot-deep sinkhole in the town of Marguerite, Pennsylvania, showed what could be a shoe.
– It almost feels like the sinkhole opened right where she was standing, says Steve Limani, spokesperson for the police in Pennsylvania.
The 64-year-old woman’s family called the police at 1 a.m. on Tuesday when she did not return home. She had gone out the night before to look for her cat Pepper.
Police found the woman’s car parked at a nearby restaurant, with her five-year-old grandson in it. At the same time, the well-sized sinkhole was discovered, which had arisen near an abandoned mine.
The girl, who had dozed off in the car, stayed there until she was picked up by the police.
Just hours before the woman disappeared, restaurant workers and hunters had been in the area but had not seen the sinkhole, leading rescuers to believe it was new.
– We are quite convinced that we are in the right place. We hope that there will be someone where she can be, says John Bacha, head of the rescue service.
According to the police, sinkholes are not uncommon in the area, which is due to subsidence in the ground from previous nearby mining operations.