Responders found the woman next to a piling under the downtown Forest Service dock. (KCAW photo, Rachel Waldholz)
An injured Sitka woman was safely transported to medical care on Monday, after responders located her using a cell phone signal.
Sitka dispatch received a call from the woman around 3:30 Monday afternoon (4-27-15), but was unable to understand her. The dispatch equipment captured her cell number, however, and authorities pinged her phone until responders could home in on her location.
She was found on the beach underneath the Forest Service dock in front of the Totem Square Inn, where she had apparently slipped down the embankment.
Sitka police, fire, and EMS responded to the scene by 3:45. Crews placed the woman in a litter and lifted her about 15 feet to the parking lot.
The rescue occurred shortly after low tide. The area where the woman fell likely would have been submerged by 10 PM.
EMS crews transported the woman to Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital.
KCAW’s Rachel Waldholz contributed to this report.
