Man and dog rescued
October 17th, 2009 | Published in In the News, Rescue
Sonoma County Sheriff’s Press Release
On Saturday 10-17-09 at about 4:15 pm, the Sheriff’s Helicopter Unit “Henry-1″ was called out to the south end of Bodega Head for a cliff rescue. Witnesses reported that a man had become stranded on the cliff’s edge after trying to rescue his own dog, which had also fallen down the cliff.
Apparently the man and his dog had been stuck for 40 minutes before the man was able to summons a passer-by to call for assistance.
The Henry-1 flight crew responded along with State Parks rangers and Bodega Bay fire crews.
Upon arrival, the Henry-1 crew located the 50-year-old Elk Grove man stranded about 25 feet down the cliff. He was stabilized between the cliff and a protruding rock, unable to return to the top. A treacherous 150 foot fall to the water lay below him. His dog, a one-year-old black Labrador named “Bella,” was stranded even more precariously another 10 feet below him.
The Henry-1 helicopter crew set up for a long-line rescue. The pilot, Paul Bradley, brought Tactical Flight Deputy Debbie Little via 100-foot long-line to the dog. Given the absence of footing possibilities along the cliff, Pilot Bradley held the long-line taut while Deputy Little quickly collared the dog and flew with the pup back up to the top of the cliff. The man was then rescued via long-line as well and flown up to safety. The entire rescue scenario took less than two minutes to perform. Neither of the rescued suffered any injuries.
Case# 091017-021
