Woman rescued from drain had been missing for weeks.
DELRAY BEACH — No one knows how she ended up in a storm drain or how long she was trapped.
She cried out for help, yelling a few feet from rush hour traffic off Atlantic Avenue. Someone passing the storm drain on Southwest 11th Avenue heard her and called 911 about 9 a.m. Tuesday.
“She was lucky,” said Delray Beach Fire Rescue spokeswoman Dani Moschella. “I don’t know how much longer she would have been OK down there. The idea that somebody might be down there for any length of time is disturbing. It’s dirty, dangerous, there’s snakes, rats, garbage, dirt and leaves, anything that’s on the street that washes into a sewer, and it smells terrible.”
Officials did not release her name but said she was reported missing to the Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Office on March 3. And it appears she had been stuck in the storm drain for a while.
She was too weak to stand up on her own. Fire rescue officers hoisted her from the 8-foot deep drain using a ladder and a harness. She had dirt all over her skin, leaves in her hair, scraped knees, and she wasn’t wearing any clothes, Moschella said.
Officials haven’t been able to figure out how on earth she got down inside the drain. The entrance is too small for an adult to fit through, Moschella said.
Police don’t suspect any foul play, said Delray Beach Police spokesman Ted White.
“From the police department standpoint, we don’t believe there was any type of crime committed,” he said. “It doesn’t feel like she was taken against her will. It appears this was done by her own free will.”
Officers talked with the woman, but she was weak and delirious. She looked to be in her early 40s, Moschella said.
“She claims that she’s been in the storm drain for a significant amount of time,” White said. “The biggest question is how long she has been in there, how did she get in there and why?”
Officers suspect she got inside the storm drain from another location and aren’t sure how she ended up there, White said.
“It’s pretty difficult to get into a storm drain where she was found,” he said. “You’d have to pull up that huge heavy grate. This is one of the most bizarre situations our officers have ever experienced.”
A small crowd had gathered around the scene, and people cheered when she was lifted out, Moschella said. Officers held up sheets to shield her from the crowd and cameras, she said.
First responders evaluated the woman, put her on a stretcher and took her to Delray Medical Center.