Coast Guard Helps Rescue Woman and Her 2 Dogs Trapped on California Cliffside, Video Shows
The woman and her dogs had fallen about 100 feet down a cliff, officials said.
— -- A woman and her two dogs were rescued today with the help of the U.S. Coast Guard after they fell about 100 feet down a cliffside in Mussel Rock Park in Daly City, California, and were trapped on a lower portion of the cliff face, according to officials.
The woman and her dogs were walking with another adult man on a park trail a little after midnight today when they fell down the cliffside, a spokesman for the North County Fire Authority (NCFA) told ABC News. Though the women and dogs were stuck on the cliff, the man was able to walk over to nearby individuals in the area and call for help, the NCFA spokesman said.
NCFA firefighters and Daly City police responded to the scene and located the women and dogs, but they couldn't perform a rescue because the dogs were very aggressive and protective of the woman, the NCFA spokesman said. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter unit was then called in for assistance.
The Coast Guard's helicopter got to the scene around 5 a.m., but rough winds delayed the rescue for almost two hours, a spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Southwest told ABC News. A rescue swimmer was finally able to come down from the helicopter around 6:45 a.m. and get the woman onto a sling, he said, adding that the rescue was caught on video.
The woman was transported to a medical facility at the San Francisco International Airport, the Coast Guard spokesman said. She was listed in stable condition, treated for minor injuries and released.
The man who called for help was also transported to a nearby medical facility, where he was also treated for minor injuries and released, according to the NCFA spokesman.
The Coast Guard was not able to rescue the woman's dogs, so the Peninsula Humane Society stepped in to help later in the morning.
"The two dogs were rescued shortly before 9 a.m.," the rescue's senior vice president of community relations, Scott Delucchi, told ABC News. "One was a chocolate Lab and the other was a Pit Bull mix. The rescue happened near the cliff area, and the dogs were reunited with their owner right on the field."
The Lab sustained a back leg injury, while the other dog wasn't injured at all, Delucchi said, adding that the owner was given a veterinary treatment notice to take the Lab to be seen by a veterinarian.
Though the dogs were found unleashed, Delucchi said the owner was not given a citation at the time.
The Coast Guard, NCFA and Humane Peninsula Society declined to identify the man and woman involved in the rescue.
The Daly City Police and Mussel Rock Park officials did not immediately respond to ABC News' requests for additional information such as if the park was open to the public during the time the man, woman and dogs were walking there.