Neighbours rescue woman from water off Willis Point

Neighbours rescue woman from water off Willis Point
CHEK
A woman was rescued from the waters off Willis Point on Saturday. (Google maps)

Willis Point residents jumped into action when they heard a woman calling for help from the water Saturday night.

Art Wynans, fire chief with the Willis Point Fire Department says around 4:30 p.m. residents called emergency and went down in their boats to help a woman and her two dogs who had fallen in the water.

“A woman was walking her dogs on Senanus Island and she had gotten herself in the water and separated from her boat,” Wynans says noting she was on a dinghy when yelling for help. “Some local residents actually came out into the water to bring the woman to safety onto one of the neighbouring residential docks.”

Wynans says once the neighbours got the woman on the dock, the fire department brought her up the hill in a basket stretcher to the ambulance.

“We got her out of her wet clothes, terrible conditions to be in the water of course with snow on the docks and the cold conditions, but we brought her up to the ambulance and where she was treated for hypothermia,” Wynans said.

He says the hill was slippery due to the snow and wet conditions, so they had to use caution bringing the woman up the hill.

One of the woman’s dogs was with her on the dinghy when the neighbours pulled her out of the water, but the other swam to shore and was found shortly after. The second dog had a cut on its leg from trying to climb onto shore on sharp rocks.

Wynans says he believes the woman is doing well and saw a Facebook post where she was thanking everyone for their help.

CHEK has reached out to the woman for comment and will update the story when she responds.

Willis Point is located north of the District of Highlands in Juan de Fuca Electoral Area and is near Brentwood Bay.

Laura BroughamLaura Brougham

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