Woman Drowns Off Stearns Wharf

Tragic. Also appalling that ANY time was squandered in the rescue effort. Precious time. What is the harm in notifying the Harbor Patrol right off the bat? That's what they're there for. I would rather have this woman be alive and ticked at whoever called than to know I did nothing. I hope her children find a way to deal with this. So sad.

This is sad. A trained lifeguard would have probably intervened sooner, but it is unreasonable to expect there to be lifeguards on the beach at 4 am. You can't blame the workers who are not trained in this area. They did their best. Alcohol and open water do not mix well. I read somewhere once that most adult open water drownings in California are alcohol related. This is just so pointless and sad.

Only one person's at fault here.

Let's see...temperatures in the 40's, four in the morning, cold water, but these people thought she was ok? It would have been obvious that this was either A: A suicide in the making, or B: A person so wasted that she didn't even feel the cold. I'd have been calling 9-1-1 right away. Time for reflection: Maybe if our society wasn't filled with people that are so disconnected that they could watch a tragedy such as this unfold without doing anything, the societal factors that drove this woman to do what she did wouldn't exist.

For more on what I'm talking about, google the name "Kitty Genovese"; she was murdered in New York in 1964 while her neighbors didn't even call the police. History is repeating itself.

billclausen, sometimes in your effort to make a greater point, you ignore what's in front of you: this is one of those times.

"The workers were concerned for her safety, said McCaffrey, because of the strange hour and cold water, but “Curtis appeared to be okay with her head above water,” McCaffrey said. Every few minutes one of the workers would check on Curtis. After half-an-hour, one of them called out to her, but though she didn’t respond, she appeared to be treading water, said McCaffrey. The workmen called Harbor Patrol to check on her, but at 4:45 a.m. it looked as if Curtis’s head was completely underwater. One of the workers – Nick Negro – jumped in to help her, and crew members called Harbor Patrol again, asking officers to hurry up."

How you could read that and then go on to make this statement is unseemly pontification:

::: "Maybe if our society wasn't filled with people that are so disconnected that they could watch a tragedy such as this unfold without doing anything..."

I'm not a lifeguard but I think that my red flags would have gone up the second I saw the person in the water and I would have called out right away to see if they were okay... I'm nosy like that. If no response then I would have called for help immediately because I would have been worried and thought that they somehow got washed out deep and were using their energy just trying to stay afloat. Not everyone thinks like me though or has a long history in CPR training and taking care of others. It is a sad situation all around, the workers knew something was wrong but didn't have the instincts to get help right away. Was it that they thought it was curious and interesting to see someone down there? Who knows... but it is a sad incident that could have been avoided. It is curious that her clothes were folded on the sand, wonder if she went down there with someone or all alone? Very odd. I'm sad for her family, they will not have answers to those questions.

As someone who was trained and worked as a lifeguard many years ago, I can assure you that anybody with such training would have been in the water instantly upon seeing that poor woman. But not everyone is trained to discard the rights of people to be left alone in order to ensure their safety. I swam out in many of riptide to people who were insulted that I presumed that their lives were in danger. The natural instinct is to just let people be unless they call for help. Rescues are made by anticipating loss of control before it happens. Such anticipation comes only with training. Please don't blame the workers. Please don't drink and swim. It's a bad combination.

Binky: As far as what I said, take it or leave it. I stand by what I said.

I have to agree with Eckermann. We live in a town with lots of athletic folks who do pretty extreme things on occasion. Those guys were keeping an eye on her, which makes me believe that they likely called out to her and she didn't respond. Me personally, I'd have called authorities anyway because of the time at which she was swimming. But I don't fault these guys because I wasn't there, and no one was holding a stop watch to see when/how long it took them to make that call. THEY know what happened and what measures they took. Not for me/us to judge, but they did call for help, which didn't come right away, and one of them tried to save her life by jumping in that frigid water after her. Even if they hesitated, which I'd understand here based on the description, ultimately one of them risked their own life to save her. A big HEFTY thank you to that person!!!

I don't blame them either because it would be hard to know what to do in that situation but I would have called for help and let the swimmer argue with harbor patrol. I imagine that more people will going forward if they see someone swimming at 4 in the morning. Isn't it off limits to swim near the pier like that? Maybe she got pulled out and was where she was hoping that someone would see she was in danger and call for help... I imagine she was too cold to ask for help :( It's just sad... Yes NO DRINKING & SWIMMING

Very tragic and sad. Just a couple of comments.

I know people who swim in the ocean every day. Some do that early in the morning before work. What time is that - 6 or 7? Four am is a little early but keep in mind that the water temperature doesn't change as rapidly as the air temperature does. The temp at 4 isn't going to be much different from that at 7 or 10 or noon.

Most of us have seen drowning scenes in the movies. People yelling and thrashing around. In fact, almost all people who drown drown quietly without any drama. No screaming, no thrashing. Perhaps the witnesses didn't see the movie type behavior so didn't realize that she was in trouble. They saw someone serenely swimming in the ocean. It would good if everyone knew that they are not going to see signs of distress from someone drowning. It's unfortunate that those workers didn't know that but it is not their fault. Blame Hollywood and think of yourself. Did you know how quietly people drown? Most people don't know.

The MEN on the dock saw the WOMAN in the water swimming in the nude. Any honorable or experienced man is going to think twice before they go running or swimming after a naked woman. Sad to say but sexuality, chances of the woman misunderstanding your intent and respect for the woman's privacy would come to my mind. What happens if I am wrong? What happens if I get arrested for assault or sued?

So this is very tragic and sad. However, it has nothing to do with Darwin - she already has children so no genes were eliminated plus isn't that really a very cold thing to say about someone who recently accidentally died? This also has nothing to do with Kitty Genovese. There was no one being attacked, no screams for help, no neighbors ignoring her.

It is what it is. A woman who apparently had too much to drink drown. Some workers thought they were keeping an eye on her and one tried to rescue her. Why try to make it more than it is?

SWI or SUI, whatever you wish to call it is not going to end well at that hour, under those conditions. An avertable tragedy that will impact her children's lives forever.

My guess is there will be a meeting involving city personnel who work along the waterfront that will result in a written protocol as to what to do in such cases in the future.

My other guess, is that there is a fin-back shark (attorney) patrolling just offshore who will file suit against the city in the names of her children for lack of reasonable action by its personnel. Watch for it.

I didn't say anything about people having to jump in the water to save her, I simply said that I find it puzzling they didn't call 9-1-1 right away. Also, we do not know for as of this time (according to this report--and I'm writing this on the afternoon of the 13th) if she had been drinking.