Two hikers and their small dog were rescued earlier tonight after?almost two hours on a 120 foot cliff in Discovery Park. Seattle Fire Public Information Officer Kyle Moore writes:
At 6:49 p.m. a 911 call came into the Fire Alarm Center from two hikers who were trapped on a steep sandy hillside on the South side of Discovery Park in Magnolia. The hikers hiked down to the beach and were walking along the sand when the high tide rolled in forcing the pair and their dog up a steep muddy brush-filled trail. Also as the sun set, the pair could not find a way back up the hill in the pitch black darkness.
Magnolia Engine Company 41 arrived first to make verbal contact with the pair. The Technical Rescue Team set up a series of rope lines and lowered approximately 300 feet from the top of the cliff down to the hikers. Also, the Chief Seattle Fire Boat responded down below the hikers.? King County Sheriff?s Guardian One responded by air.
A Seattle Police Officer hiked up from down below and was able to reach the hikers first and lead them down to the waiting Fire Boat. The boat took the hikers and their small dog to the Lighthouse where they were examined by Medics and found to have no injuries. The Medics transported the pair to their SUV.
I thought dogs are not allowed on the beach? certainly the officers ticketed these brilliant hikers…
They “were walking along the sand when the high tide rolled in forcing the pair and their dog up a steep muddy brush-filled trail”? Really? Tides don’t exactly move at highway speeds here. More like these idiots chose to climb UP the erosion-prone, fragile cliff.
Yet another reminder why we need a gate up on the road to keep the drunks out at night. I love that my tax dollars are being spent to rescue fools, instead of to protect the park.
couldn’t agree more.
The KOMO 4 website has photos of the couple and their names. The City should send them a bill for the rescue just like is done if you need to be retrieved from the mountains. This wasn’t an “accident” beyond their control – this was stupidity. And yes, they should be ticketed for having their dog on the beach….
Was the female wearing a short white tennis skirt by chance??
Please tell me taxpayer didn’t pay to rescue these two….
Please tell me taxpayer $ were not used to rescue these two….
C’mon people. Sounds like they made a poor judgement call, and got stuck. Why would these folks not deserve to rescued? Have some compassion.
It’s inspiring to find there are so many ‘perfect’ people living in Magnolia that have never made a stupid mistake in your lives.
I agree. Everyone knows they should be ticketed for the dog. But most people have no idea how fast the tide comes in and they made a mistake in judgement, undoubtably walking out too far, and thank god we have resources to help young people who make mistakes not pay with their life. Everyone who bitches and moans about his kind of thing: you were never in your life drunk and did something stupid? You never in your life made a misstep of any kind? I absolutely am in favor of the gate because I can easily hike down there and want to see it preserved as it is, but they probably hiked down there too. I am very glad I didn’t have to pay with my life when I made stupid mistakes in my life. Pay the ticket and move on. We pay for emergency resources for drunks out boating who get into accidents too, and they should definitely know better.
I’m hardly perfect, but no, I have never done anything close to as stupid as that. Nor have I been so drunk as to do something stupid that I regretted later…in fact after college I swore off drinking completely. Why is personal responsibility so hard a thing for people to owe up to? Everyone gets a pass these days…
Every does something tht results in a potential disaster. If you have a heart attack walking in the woods, do you want to take personal responsibility for the causes of that and not seek help from anyone, or would you yell for help? If you really think it through, everyone needs to rely on others at some point. “Stupid” isn’t the word for every behavior just because it isn’t the particular error you would make.If you have lived a real life, you have made errors.
http://www.theonion.com/articles/libertarian-reluctantly-calls-fire-department,4651/