This afternoon three friends were canoeing on the Russian River near Healdsburg when their canoe accidently overturned. Two of the canoers made it to shore but they could not locate their other friend. They quickly found a vineyard worker who called 911.
At about 12:35pm, the Sheriff’s Office helicopter (Henry-1) arrived on scene and started to search for the missing person. Deputies from the Marine Unit and main office along with fire personnel from Healdsburg, Geyserville and Forestville responded to the area for a water rescue.
At approximately 1:30pm, Henry-1 located the missing person in the river under some tree limbs. Henry-1 performed a long-line rescue and airlifted the victim to the shore where she was pronounced deceased. The woman, in her 60’s, was wearing a lifejacket.
Prepared by Lt. J. Molinari
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