Woman refuses to leave city tree

POLICE and emergency services were yesterday called to a scene in Kimberley where a 51-year-old woman, first believed to be dead, was discovered stranded in a tree.

The woman, whose identity is still unknown, was discovered at the top of a lemon tree in the gardens of Trinity House, in Chapel Street, at around 8.30am yesterday morning.

Initial reports indicated that the woman was dead but paramedics from ER24 arrived on the scene and found that she was alive. However, she refused to come down from the tree, while talking gibberish and hurling insults.

Several further attempts to convince the woman to come down were also in vain.

“This tree is growing while I am inside it. You can try and get to me but you will not succeed, as you will never reach the top of this ever-growing tree,” the woman said.

Some of the woman’s belongings, including a pair of sandals and identity documents, were found close to the tree and it is suspected that she slept in the yard of the church next to Trinity House before climbing into the tree early yesterday morning.

After police arrived on the scene the area had to be cordoned off, as a large crowd of onlookers had gathered and traffic was disrupted.

Many in the crowd believed that the woman was “on drugs” or had “escaped from a mental institution”.

The woman’s husband, from Bloemfontein, was also contacted but he could also not convince her to get out of the tree.

After a police suicide negotiator climbed into the tree and spoke to her for about an half an hour, she finally climbed out with him.

Her vitals were then checked by ER24 paramedics, who transported her to West End Psychiatric Hospital at around 9.45am.

Police spokesperson, Captain Sergio Kock, yesterday confirmed that the SAPS Search and Rescue team was summoned to a scene where a 51-year-old woman refused to come down from a tree in Chapel Street.

“Police negotiated with her and she eventually agreed to come down. The exact reason for the woman’s actions is not clear at this stage, however, she was taken to hospital for medical examination,” Kock said.