[Update from HCSO] Technical Rescue Crews Respond After Report of Woman Trapped in Well East of Miranda

Emergency crews are responding to an unusual rescue call in a mountain community east of Miranda, where a 34-year-old woman is reported to have fallen into a well, according to radio traffic.

The call, reported just before noon, came in from the 9000 block of Dyerville Loop Road, dispatched as a code 3 medical emergency, meaning responders were sent with lights and sirens. Fruitland Ridge, Miranda, and Myers Flat volunteer fire departments were all dispatched to the scene.

Once fire crews arrived, they requested Southern Humboldt Technical Rescue, a specialized team trained for the kind of complex extractions that a fall into a well can require, such as confined space access and rope rescue. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office is also responding code 3.

According to radio traffic, fire personnel at the scene said a neighbor told them the woman may have been in the well since the previous night and is unresponsive. That information has not been independently confirmed and is being relayed secondhand, from a neighbor to fire crews to dispatch.

Wells and other confined spaces present unique challenges for rescue crews, often requiring specialized equipment and training beyond what’s needed for a typical medical call.

Please remember that information gathered from initial reports is subject to revision as more facts become available.

Update 12:05 p.m.: Crews responding to the report of a woman who fell into a well east of Miranda have confirmed the patient is in the well and submerged underwater, according to scanner traffic.

Radio traffic indicates the well is approximately 20 feet deep and that the woman has been submerged since around 10 p.m. the previous night.

Update 12:20 p.m.: According to scanner traffic, the scene is being secured as HCSO units respond.

Update: All units cleared the scene around 3:23 p.m. This is now a coroner’s investigation. Our condolences go out to the family and friends of the person who died. 

Update 6/18: The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed the woman has been identified, but her name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

According to HCSO Public Information Specialist Erin Inskip, deputies were called to the scene after a 911 call reported a woman trapped in a well in Southern Humboldt. Deputies conducted the initial investigation, and the Southern Humboldt Technical Rescue Team carried out the rescue operation.

Inskip said the call was initially categorized as a suspicious circumstance because the nature of the situation was not known at the time. Investigators have since found no evidence of suspicious circumstances. How the woman came to be in the well remains under investigation.

Inskip said additional information will be released as it becomes available.