Cops rescue drunken swimmer from GT harbour

| 28/03/2013

_DEW0749_0.jpg(CNS):  A 29-year-old woman was hauled safely from the water early this morning after taking a drunken swim that could have ended tragically. The woman, who was celebrating her birthday, decided to go for an early morning swim in rough seas at around after 3:20am today, Thursday 28 March. The police received a report from a friend who raised the alarm and told emergency personnel that the intoxicated woman was swimming in George Town Harbour in rough seas. The police attended the waterfront and saw that the woman was about 100yards from shore but refused to return when instructed to do so by the officers. They then lost sight of her in the rough seas and launched a rescue mission.

The Marine Unit vessel Tornado and the Air Operations Unit were deployed to the scene and they began searching for the missing swimmer but it was not until around 5:50am that she was finally located clinging to a raft approximately 150yards from shore, some two and a half hours after she had entered the water.

An officer from the Marine Unit dived onto the rough seas and pulled the woman from the raft onto the Tornado. She was conscious but extremely cold, the police said, and she was taken to the Lobster Pot dock, where a waiting ambulance took her to the Cayman Islands Hospital in George Town for treatment.

Sergeant Richard Scott, of the Joint Marine Unit issued a warning to others who may consider swimming after consuming alcohol.

“Swimming and alcohol are a dangerous combination,” the officer warned. “Overnight the seas were rough, which made this search and rescue all the more difficult. Thankfully this young woman was found and is now being treated in hospital, but her actions could so easily have resulted in the RCIPS reporting a tragedy this morning rather than a successful search and rescue operation,” he added.

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  1. MEM says:

    I wonder how many hypocrites on here really haven't taken a drunken swim?

    • Anonymous says:

      I take drunken swims every Sunday; but not at 3:30am and I've never had to have the Marine Unit rescue me. That's the difference.

  2. Anonymous says:

    Here are some answers to those of you who apparently have no idea of what you are commenting about,yes there have been days that cruise ships are in town when the weather is bad,there was one in town on wednesday and two on thursday while the weather was still bad as you call it.The tenders are usually in GT before or by 5 am on cruise ship days,if you bothered to read the report as to the time she was recovered from the water it states 5:50am.Interestingly enough on todays news at 6pm the video that was released by the police from the helicopter shows her being removed from the water by the same black platform that i stated she was spotted under by one of the tenders.Also prior to the US going to daylight saving time there has been lots of days cruise ships were in  town until 7:00 pm.

     

    • Anonymous says:

      Um, so which cruise ship was already in at 3.20 am when she decided to go for her drunken  swim?  As you quite correctly state she was recovered from the water at around 5.50 am, but if you bothered to read on, you would have seen that this was some 2.5 hours after she had entered the water.

  3. Anonymous says:

    Don't drink and swim, get high and fly…

  4. Anonymous says:

    The facts are that one of the Tender boats located the woman under the black platform that sits offshore of rackhams,they were in town because of that big ship that was off GT called a cruise ship was there.Problem with the whole report by officer so and so  failed to acknowledge that they didnt do the rescue on their own and other parties involved should be thanked accordingly.

    • Anonymous says:

      Seriously? Did you not read the report? Have you ever seen any cruise ships or tenders in GT harbour at 3am?

       

      Why do we have so many people here who like to cite as "facts" any outrageous story that they have received from an unreliable source?

    • Anonymous says:

      21:53, have you ever seen a cruise ship in GT when there is bad weather? Have you ever seen a cruise ship tender in town after 5pm?

    • Anonymous says:

      Did you all see the Cayman27 report with the police video.  Clearly shows the MARINE officers (including customs) making the rescue, unless of course they went back and reenacted the whole scene so they could claim the credit.  All credit to these guys, they literally DID save this womans life. 

      • Anonymous says:

        I believe the made up story told fourth hand through the Marl Road every time over real direct evidence.  That is why I know for example how terribly Caymanians are treated when applying for jobs too, because my aunt was told by someone in Kirk's that their cousin heard from someone they were at school with that their girlfriend did not get a job when she should have got the job, so it must be true.

  5. Anonymous says:

    Marl road has it this is not the first time she has done this either! Seems she likes to celebrate her b-day with booze and taking chances in the ocean!

  6. "Expat" says:

    Agree, agree,aagreeeeed. For the record, it was M/V Typhoon that was used for the rescue. Excellent work Marine Unit, that's what you guys do when the chips are down! By the way, tender??? Where would that have come from in those seas? Get facts, and not marl road.

  7. Kadafe says:

    Im sorry to tell u guys the reality of the matter. You dont pay the government for rescuing you in an emergency or accident. You could be held liable though if you made a false call and there is no emergency or accident you could be fined $ 50,000 that is sort of the standard internationally.
    Sorry guys.

  8. Anonymous says:

    I heard it was the tender company that found her, and not the police, they mearly pulled her from the water???

  9. The Philosopher says:

    I never knew we had so many "idiots" in cayman!  Likelihood is, she is one of those who think it's fun to go up on a snow-capped mountain to ski or snowboard after seeing the "WARNING SIGNS" posted everywhere, but decides to risk losing "not just their own life" but the lives of those who will try to rescue them. 

    In Cayman there should be a law that says anyone who knowinglytakes a chance and does what this woman did [or anything similar] being aware of the conditions out there, should not only have to pay the cost of their rescue, but will be assigned to community service while wearing  a tee shirt that says!  "I AM STUPID".

    • Anonymous says:

      People put themselves in deliberate danger on a daily basis i.e swimming or crossing the road or going outside withhout any sunblock.

      • Anonymous says:

        Crossing the road, swimming in the ocean and going outside without sublock are all a little different than getting completely drunk and going for a 100 yard swim in rough seas at 3:30 in the morning. Be reasonable. 

  10. Anonymous says:

    Let the woman pay, I hear she from wealthy family.

  11. Anonymous says:

    She’s a well known Caymanian business man daughter that’s why the rcip is not releasing her name! Can you assist us cns with more details?

    Caymanian

  12. Anonymous says:

    Guess it must have sucked for her to be getting closer to turning thirty, huh? Don’t worry honey, they don’t call it “dirty thirty” for nothing. Cheer up. Enjoy life because others are fighting for theirs. And please don’t let crap like this happen again. Lesson learned I hope.

  13. Anonymous says:

    Wow do have another caymanian woman seeking help?, or do we have a drunken person

    lost in reality?. Should it be the first please get her help. Should it be the latter she should

    have to pay the cost of this rescue. Sending a strong message to the general public that

    help is available semming it is the women now that are showing their need. Cayman needs to

    wake up and start to take care of our brothers/sisters . New ML'as and present get with the

    real situations and create history.

     

    • Anonymous says:

      3:20 AM?????? WTF is our people and country coming to???? Are bars now open 24 hours a day????

      • Anonymous says:

        No, bars close at 1am, nightclubs at 3am, its been like this for years now, what planet do you live on?

      • Anonymous says:

        What has the bar timings to do with this …….u dumb or wa

  14. Bueller says:

    This idiot should be made to pay the cost of the rescue operation in full.

  15. Anonymous says:

    Glad she is okay but who pays for the rescue services time and resources that has been used and wasted? She should!!! Why should the public purse!

  16. Anonymous says:

    Could this be Rollies mystery woman?

  17. Anonymous says:

    She is an idiot and should be forced to pay for some if not all the costs invloved. I've swum in GT harbour and it's a pain to get back out and I was close to the dock, but no way would I entaertain getting in in the seas we have jsut had. Fool.

    But I will say well done Marine Police !

  18. Right ya so says:

    Good that she's safe but I hope the rescue services charge her for the cost of the rescue operation! Silly girl! 

  19. Anonymous says:

    Whilst I am glad this lady is safe, and I commend the officers that assisted, her foolishness came at a huge expense to the already financially-strained people who live here. She should be paying the bill.

    • Anonymous says:

      Take a trip to social services and you will also see the thousands of other fools that we all have to foot the bill for because of their stupid decisions in life, what do you suggest we do with them?

      • Anonymous says:

        The same thing! If you're an irresponsible cretin who makes stupid decisions and wastes governmental allocation of time, resources and materials then you should be partially responsible for the reimbursement of those precious resources. Perhaps then people would be more thoughtful about their actions and consider what they're doing to a greater extent. If we get hurt and have to call the ambulance, whether it was an accident or not, you have to pay for it (either you, or your insurance) – why should this not apply to in instances such as these where the situation could have certainly been avoided had the individual been sober. It is all about decisions, and sometimes, when you make the wrong one, there are consequences. Our government shouldn't be setting a precedent where they suffer fools gladly. 

        • Rorschach says:

          Our government shouldn't be setting a precedent where they suffer fools gladly.

           

          Bobo, where you been?? That's been the order of the day since Miss Lassie wore bloomers..

           

  20. Anonymous says:

    Why should you or I have to pay to for this?  Send her the bill.

  21. Anonymous says:

    Seriously? This woman is lucky she had a friend with some sense. These restaurants / bars should be required to have “security” if they are going to be serving alcohol so late @ night to make sure that people don’t do craziness like this

  22. Anonymous says:

    What an idiot!

    Hopefully she will have to pay for the cost of her rescue.

  23. KYnot4KYians says:

    She should be billed for the Marine and Air Unit. If someone gets in problems due to genuine need or accident, that is different. But to tie so many resources up in helping when she was drunk should be billable. I am happy they were able to assist, and I feel that was the right thing to do. But she should be made to pay for the resources used to help her.

  24. Anynomous says:

    Thank God for the Marine Unit and especially for the friend wo called in to report the woman going into the water.  We must never take for granted the actions of others, sometimes yes it can be a birthday celebration, but no one knows the feeling why the woman would want to jump in the ocean at 3.30 in the morning.  Please treat our friends well and stay close to the,  Thank you Marine Unit for a job well done.

  25. Anonymous says:

    To teach her a valuable lesson , make her pay the costs that were incurred for the resume mission.
    She and others may think twice before their silly actions, if they had to pay for a helicopter, rescue boat, an ambulance and all personnel hourly costs!

  26. Anonymous says:

    the ci govt should start to charge those people who do stupid things like this a fee etc, it's a waste of govt $$$!

     

    caymanian

  27. Anonymous says:

    Stupid woman. Name her.

  28. Anonymous says:

    How irresponsible of her. Apart from the fact that she risked her own life she risked the lives of those that had to go out and rescue her. She should be made to pay for the expenses related to rescuing her. 

  29. Rorschach says:

    You know, I don't usually advocate for this sort of thing, but this young lady needs to be charged for the cost of her "rescue".  She refused to comply with the instructions of the police to return to the dock and as such put officers lives at risk.  There needs to a deterant.

  30. Anonymous says:

    Stupid woman.  She should be made to pay for the cost of the rescue. 

  31. Anonymous says:

    How irresponsible!! She should be made to pay for the cost of the rescue operation!!!!

  32. Anonymous says:

    Stupid, drunken female putting the lives of the emergency services at risk……hopefully when she sobers up she will hang her head in shame, but somehow I doubt it.  Well done to Air Ops, Marine and the ground emergency services for turning out from home and work to save a life.  Keep up the good work.

  33. St Peter says:

    Its my birthday and I just wanna get drunk and go swimming…

  34. Anonymous says:

    I also saw a police car and all the marine units headed for the Eastern Districts this morning while on my way to work – and was wondering if something else was happening.

  35. Anonymous says:

    DUMB AS CONCH

  36. Anonymous says:

    I’m so glad this young lady is safe. When are we going to recognize alcohol as the destructive force that it is – a legal drug that’s destroying lives. In Cayman, it doesn’t appear that there can be any function, fundraiser, celebration without alcohol. Yet, we send our young people to jail and let them suffer for the rest of their adult life for smoking a ganja cigarette.

  37. Anonymous says:

    What……….the…………….!!!!!!!!!!