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UPDATE, 2:42 p.m.:

The woman has been rescued and taken via Coast Guard helicopter to St. Joseph Hospital, according to Ferndale Fire Public Information Officer Jif D’Aguanno.

He told the Outpost via phone a few minutes ago that the 72-year-old woman attempted to cross the flooded roadway, but the water was too deep. Her vehicle “started getting taken away by the tide” and then “floated away.”

Ferndale Fire personnel responded along with the Eel River Valley Technical Rescue Team, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, City Ambulance, a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter and the local Cahill family, who contributed two tractors to the rescue effort.  One of those tractors was able to effect a rescue from the vehicle, after which the woman was picked up via a Coast Guard rescue basket, hauled into the helicopter and transported to the hospital, D’Aguanno said. 

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UPDATE, 2 p.m.:

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Special Services unit is on the scene conducting a rescue attempt of the trapped motorist, Lt. Jesse Taylor said via email. Taylor added that a Coast Guard helicopter is overhead, assisting with the ground units.

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Original post:

Emergency responders are attempting to locate and rescue a 72-year-old woman who was last seen inside a white SUV, submerged to her neck in a flooded field along the Eel River north of Ferndale, according to scanner traffic.

Ferndale Volunteer Fire Department Chief Rick Nicholson has requested help from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office and a helicopter from the Coast Guard. His office is also using a swift rescue boat, according to local resident Caroline Titus.

“He’s done this many times,” Titus said.

The woman called for help at approximately 1:10 p.m., saying she was “floating downstream,” a dispatcher said. She was located off of Fulmor road, near its intersection with Goble Lane, according to scanner traffic.

This news is breaking. We will update when we have more information. The location below is approximate, based on scanner traffic.