Woman stuck in Wellton canal rescued after 18 hours

WELLTON, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - The entire rescue is nothing short of a miracle for a woman who was stuck in a Wellton canal for 18 hours.

Through a conjoined effort by the Wellton Police Department and the Yuma County Sheriff's Office (YCSO), they were able to rescue the woman with a rope and a leather dog leash.

The 59-year-old who is not familiar with the southwestern part of Arizona, faced a life or death situation after her dog left her sight in the desert and went straight into a canal.

The Yuma County Sheriff's Office says the woman and her dog pulled over into the desert to stretch before heading back to Tucson, Ariz. around 6 p.m. on June 7.

This was around Avenue 22E and Highway 80 when the unthinkable happened.

Tania Pavlak of YCSO shares details of the rescue.

“She did let the dog off the leash and the dog ended up going into the canal and that’s when she ended up going into the canal to rescue her," explained Pavlak.

The woman was stuck in the canal for 18 hours holding on to an underwater Palo Verde tree branch for dear life.

On June 8, after seven trains passed her, an eighth train finally noticed her distress signal of splashing and waving her free.

Around 12 p.m., the train conductor blew the horn to let her know they saw her.

The woman and her dog did not sustain any critical injuries.

The adrenaline of facing life or death is what pushed the woman to keep holding onto an underwater tree branch with one arm since she was holding her dog with the other.

"It’s really hard to be able to climb out yourself unless you’re, you know, holding onto something to either pull yourself up or somebody is helping you get out," said Pavlak.

Although canal banks are vital to our valley cities, they should only be used for their intended purposes.

Understanding the danger of these waters is important for everyone’s safety to prevent drowning.