A 26-year-old Kelowna woman is lucky to be alive after a police officer saved her from drowning in the mire of a Rutland park Saturday evening.
Cnst. Marty Walker was among a search party combing the Rutland flats near McCurdy Road at 11 p.m. when he spotted the young woman struggling in the Chichester Wetland Park bog. He waded into the water to keep her afloat until more rescuers and equipment could arrive.
“(She) had apparently purchased some liquor before wandering off, and her family was concerned for her well-being,” said Cnst. Kris Clark, Kelowna RCMP spokesperson.
The family alerted police she might be in danger as the young woman suffers from an alcohol addiction and had walked away from a recovery house in the area.
Upon receiving the alert, police quickly fanned out across possible routes she might have taken. The officer who found her said the water in the bog was extremely cold and did not have much fight left when she was found.
The woman was taken to hospital with hypothermia-like conditions.
“Fortunately her family called when they did as it’s very likely the woman would not have survived much longer, let alone the rest of the night in the frigid waters,” said Clark.
