The hole is about the size of a manhole and wasn’t there when hunters and restaurant workers had been in the area a few hours before the woman's disappearance.

The authorities in Pennsylvania said they had been searching the sinkhole for the 64-year-old woman, and would continue until she is found.

A grandmother looking for her lost cat apparently fell into a sinkhole that had recently opened above an abandoned western Pennsylvania coal mine and rescuers worked late into the night Tuesday to try and find her.

Pennsylvania, where a grandmother disappeared this week, is one of the states where sinkholes are most common in the U.S.

As the search for Elizabeth Pollard stretches into another day, police and rescue crews said they remain hopeful despite the mine being considered "unstable."

Search teams faced mounting challenges Wednesday as they fought to locate 64-year-old Elizabeth Pollard, believed to have fallen into a sinkhole while searching for her missing cat in Pennsylvania. Efforts to find her have been hindered by the unstable conditions of an abandoned coal mine beneath the area,

The search entered day two on Wednesday. Pennsylvania troopers worry the abandoned mine where search efforts are underway is becoming unsafe, a report says.