Kentucky Woman Rescued Two Days After 40ft Fall From Bridge

May 20, 2004
A woman who had been missing since late Sunday was found alive on the bank of the Salt River after a fisherman heard her call for help.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- A woman who had been missing since late Sunday was found alive on the bank of the Salt River after a fisherman heard her call for help.

The woman had apparently fallen about 40 feet off a bridge. She was found late Tuesday in the mud on the steep, wooded embankment at the juncture of Hardin, Bullitt and Jefferson counties.

The fisherman called for help after hearing the woman, whose name wasn't released, and reached Bullitt County's emergency dispatch.

Firefighters from Nichols Fire Department and South Dixie helped look for the woman. Rescue crews drove a sport-utility vehicle over an old road beneath the overpass to reach the woman and get her out and into an ambulance.

South Dixie Fire Chief Vincent Smith said the crew found her lying on her stomach, complaining of back pain and unable to move her left leg.

``She just wanted to get out of there,'' Smith said.

She was being treated for fractures and exposure.

The woman's family had filed a missing-person report with Louisville Metro Police, Smith said.

``It was impossible to see her from the road,'' Smith said. He credited the fisherman with her life.

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