A Juneau woman was rescued early Friday morning in the downtown waterfront area after jumping into the water and trying to swim out into Gastineau Channel.
The incident happened just before 2:30 a.m. when the Juneau Police Department received a call about the woman swimming away from the steamship dock. Witnesses said the woman would not respond to requests to get out of the water. After about 15 minutes, the woman stopped swimming and then stopped moving altogether.
Police called the U.S. Coast Guard which dispatched a 45-foot rescue boat with a four-man duty crew out of Station Juneau. The woman was initially unresponsive when she was pulled out of the water about 50 yards away from the dock, but Lt.(jg) Eric Ferree of Sector Juneau said the woman was breathing when Capital City Fire/Rescue EMTs started with initial care.
Capt. Todd Cameron said they provided advanced life support during the trip to the hospital.
No information was released on any other potential injuries, although it was believed the woman was in the early stages of hypothermia.
Juneau Police Sgt. Krag Campbell said they got the call from a bystander who apparently overheard the woman say she was going to jump into the water. Officers believe the woman was intoxicated.
It’s unclear if the woman jumped from the top of the steamship dock or simply entered the water from the lightering float.
The woman’s name was not released; she was only identified as a 35-year-old Juneau resident.
Campbell said later in a department release that the woman was evaluated at Bartlett Regional Hospital and then medevaced to Providence Medical Center in Anchorage.