Woman rescued from bluff

Published 6:11 pm Wednesday, March 19, 2014

by Sequim Gazette staff

Emergency responders rescued a 27-year-old woman trapped on an unstable bluff at Port Williams beach Monday night.

Peter Loeb, public information officer with Clallam County Fire District 3, said the woman, Jacqueline Mariott, was hiking with a friend around 7 p.m. when she climbed up a steep slope and felt the wet ground becoming unstable beneath her feet.

It was getting dark and she was 55 feet high on a 75-foot bluff, Loeb said.

Her friend called 9-1-1 and the responding Sheriff’s deputies requested help from the fire district, which arrived with their rescue unit, aid cars, a fire engine and several medics, he said.

“An anchor was set up at the top of bluff,” he said. “Medic/Firefighter Joel Bower, specially trained through Clallam County Fire District 3, provided technical rope rescue to the woman as she clung to him and together they belayed to bottom.”

The rescue concluded at 9:16 p.m. and Mariott, who was unharmed, walked back to the parking lot with her friend.

Assistant Fire Chief Ben Andrews said the training of fire personnel and the teamwork of the Sheriff’s Office made for a properly executed rescue.