PIERCE COUNTY, WA – The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department called off the rescue of a missing woman swimming near Dash Point Park after receiving a call that the woman had been in distress.
“This afternoon a woman called 911 to report a possible swimmer in distress in the sound near Dash Point Park. The caller told dispatchers that there is normally a group of three women that swim in the sound with orange buoys attached to them, but today she only saw one swimmer get in the water and the orange buoy was floating alone without a swimmer attached,” the sheriff’s department said. “Our Dive Team members responded to the scene along with Tacoma Fire, Lakewood Police, and Tacoma Police to search for the possible missing swimmer. Once they arrived they headed towards the buoy to start their search… but when they went to recover the buoy they found it was actually a pumpkin.”
The day wasn’t a total loss for the department, they went home with a pumpkin and a valuable unscheduled training exercise to prepare for the real thing in the future.