Octogenarian Suicide Averted On Palos Verdes Cliff

A sheriff’s detective pulled an 81-year-old woman to safety after she made her way onto a cliff’s edge in Rancho Palos Verdes this morning in an attempt to kill herself.

Deputies responded about 11:30 a.m. to the 4100 block of Palos Verdes Drive, where the woman was standing on the edge of the cliff, according to officials at the sheriff’s Lomita Station.

“Detective Todd Hoy arrived and saw the female in a crouched position on the edge of the cliff, facing the ocean, and swinging her arms as if she was preparing to throw herself from the cliff,” according to a sheriff’s department statement

“Detective Hoy quickly approached her from behind and grabbed her, enabling him to pull her away from the cliff to safety. As Detective Hoy pulled the female to safety, she told him she wanted to jump.”

The woman was taken to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, according to the sheriff’s department.

The watch commander at the Lomita Station said Hoy was a multi-year, “very seasoned veteran” of the department.

-City News Service