A UCSB student broke her ankle Sunday when she jumped from a cliff into a Red Rock pool, setting off a three-stage rescue that involved her friends, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team and emergency personnel.
Sheriff’s Department spokesman Drew Sugars said Sunday night that the woman, a 21-year-old from Pleasanton, was one of four students who had hiked to Red Rock, a popular swimming and picnic site along the Santa Ynez River at the end of Paradise Road. The woman jumped from a cliff into the water, but landed on a rock just under the surface and broke her ankle, Sugars said.
The site has poor cell-phone reception so Sugars said the group decided to use a boogie board to carry their injured friend to safety. Once in range of a cell signal, they called 9-1-1.
Sugars said a nine-member search and rescue squad responded, along with Santa Barbara County firefighters and an American Medical Response ambulance. The search and rescue team located the injured woman at the end of the access road and initiated first aid until firefighters arrived. AMR transported her to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for further treatment.
The woman’s condition could not be determined late Sunday. Her identity has not been released.
— Noozhawk publisher Bill Macfadyen can be reached at wmacfadyen@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk.