Woman Drowns After She's Swept Away By Sonoma County Creek Current

SONOMA COUNTY, CA -- A woman drowned Saturday afternoon in a Sonoma County creek near Cloverdale, a battalion chief with the Cloverdale Fire Protection District said.

Battalion Chief Rick Blackmon said April 30 that it appears a couple was wading in Big Sulphur Creek, a tributary of the Russian River, when they may have slipped or were just taken downstream by the current.

Rescue personnel with the fire protection district were called at 4:39 p.m. on April 29 to an area of the creek near Pine Mountain and Geysers roads where the couple had been.

Both appear to have slipped into the creek or were swept downstream, Blackmon said. The man was able to get out, but his 23-year-old girlfriend wasn't, authorities say.

The victim's name was being withheld by officials over the weekend pending the notification of relatives.

Bay City News contributed to this report/Patch file photo via Al Francis-napasonomaphotos.com