Woman rescued at Worden after climbing partway down cliff

Published 12:01 am Friday, July 20, 2012

PORT TOWNSEND — An unidentified woman and her dog were rescued Thursday morning after both went over an embankment at Fort Worden State Park.

There were no injuries, said Bill Beezley, spokesman for East Jefferson Fire-Rescue.

The woman scrambled about 15 feet down a 200-foot-high embankment at the state park after her dog, which was on a leash but which escaped her and slipped over the edge, Beezley said.

She gave up on reaching her dog and tried to return, getting stuck about 6 feet below the edge of the cliff, he said.

Passers-by on the beach below heard her yell for help and called 9-1-1 at about 10:10 a.m.

In a high-angle rescue, the woman was pulled to safety.

Park Ranger Todd Jensen said he rescued the dog, a female Corgi.

Jensen climbed down the embankment about 20 feet to reach the dog, who was stuck on a small ledge about 50 feet above the water.

It took Jensen about 15 minutes to rescue the dog, which did not struggle.

“She was pretty happy to see me,” he said.