Pollard was first reported missing by a relative in the early morning hours of Tuesday, Dec. 3, after she disappeared while looking for her missing cat. Her 5-year-old granddaughter was later found safe and asleep inside her vehicle. About 36 hours after she was reported missing, authorities shifted the search and rescue effort due to safety concerns. On Wednesday, Dec. 4, the search turned into a recovery effort as the condition of the mine changed.
At the Dec. 6 press conference, Limani said authorities believe that as the mine began to deteriorate and the sinkhole formed, it created a mound shaped like a Hershey's kiss. "When she fell through the shaft and landed on that mound, it appeared that she rolled or moved about 12 feet from where our initial spot was," he explained. This created difficulty for searchers as they had to determine her location based on the effects of gravity.
Pollard's son, Axel Hayes, expressed his mixed emotions. "I am more happy that they found her, but not in the condition we were hoping for. We were hoping she had maybe fallen and hit her head and was maybe unconscious or in a coma and that it wouldn't come to this," he told The New York Times. Before her body was found, Hayes said they had prepared for the worst and appreciated everyone's hard work in the search.
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