Yafang Zhou, a 59-year-old woman from California, was discovered after she had been missing for more than a week. Her family had last seen her on March 25 outside their home downtown. On April 3, first responders found Zhou stuck in a storm drain near Beeler Canyon Road. This led to a last-minute shooting rescue and concern around whether he would be saved in time.
The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department deployed its teams to conduct a search for Zhou, who had been missing for several days. Firefighters began their search when family members alerted them to her missing status. The entire search took roughly an hour and a half. Her dulcet cries were audible to first responders from below ground, assuring them she was alive but vulnerable and needing immediate assistance.
Battalion Chief Erik Windsor with the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department led the rescue effort. Firefighters used confined space rescue techniques to hoist Zhou out of the storm drain. This drain was located roughly 8-10’ below grade off a popular hiking pathway. To suppress the spew of raw sewage pouring into the creek, the team pried maintenance hole covers to access the area.
“It is very possible from what I’m hearing that she’s been there for days,” Windsor stated regarding the circumstances surrounding Zhou’s entrapment.
Once they found her, first responders flew Zhou to a nearby hospital. Medical staff decided she was critically injured when she got there. Lifesaving measures were performed at the hospital, but unfortunately, she was pronounced dead at approximately 4:15 PM on the same day she was rescued.
Windsor said he cannot explain how Zhou found his way into the storm drain. “What she was doing in there, what drove her in there, how she came to be in there, we are unclear,” he said. In a comment on the post, he added that police department staff would be better suited to answer any additional questions about the incident.
He elaborated on the rescue operation itself, explaining, “Units entered into the sewage system into what we call a confined space. They went through all the processes to permit it to make a safe entry, and then firefighters were literally inside the sewage or storm drain, crawling on their stomachs to try and locate the victim.”
Windsor speculated that Zhou could have entered the storm drain system through one of the outlets. These access points often dump water into a sheltered creek. They can be accessed via road or trail in many cases.
This horrible crash underscores the danger associated with deadly infrastructure. It further highlights the challenges that emergency responders face while trying to rescue those in need. As federal probes persist, officials seek to understand the greater context that led Zhou’s disappearance and subsequent ensnarement.